


If I Fall For You

by SpaceJammie



Series: Oddly Specific First Meetings Fic Collection [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Features Oikawa's nephew and sister but ages are adjusted to fit the story, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, If you read this before 2021 then chapter 6 will be new to you, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru Fluff, Lots of jokes that i made myself laugh with haha, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Nishinoya Yuu & Tanaka Ryuunosuke are Bros, Oddly Specific Fic For My Oddly Specific Interests, Oikawa is a huge ABBA fan, Oikawa is a matchmaker with a 100 percent success rate, ParentTrapped DaiSuga, Plenty of blushing iwa-chan, References to ABBA, Soft Iwaizumi Hajime, iwaoi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26317567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceJammie/pseuds/SpaceJammie
Summary: While on a hike with his nephew, Oikawa meets a very cute park ranger by the name of Iwaizumi.Oikawa immediately decides that he has a huge crush on Iwaizumi, and the feeling is mutual.Oikawa also decides to meddle in the lives of some of the other park rangers, and set them up with his friends. His intentions are good but his methods are questionable.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Oddly Specific First Meetings Fic Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982089
Comments: 92
Kudos: 356
Collections: My favorite haikyuu fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had this tiny little scene in my head, and it seemed like it would fit Iwaizumi and Oikawa well. So I went to type out this short scene, and ended up with a while story. Oops! 
> 
> I hope this story brings you a smile in this, the year of maximum stress and anxiety, 2020.

It was past noon on a clear summer day. The temperature was steadily climbing and the air was humid; it was not pleasant weather to be out in. Oikawa and his nephew had just arrived in the parking lot in front of a ranger station; it was the closest place to park with access to the trail they would be hiking. 

Oikawa was wondering for the fifth time since waking up that morning, what exactly had made him agree to go on a hike up one of the steepest mountains in the area. He wiped a bead of sweat off his brow and frowned. He couldn’t believe how sweaty he already was; they hadn’t even left the parking lot yet. He sighed as he knelt down and dug through his backback to get the sunscreen; he was sure he had put some there the night before when preparing for today's trip.

He finally found it underneath layers of snacks, water bottles, a map, and everything else he had packed. He was thankful that it hadn't leaked from being under the rest of the contents of his pack. 

Oikawa’s seven year old nephew, Takeru, was standing beside him. Takeru was the reason for this hike; it had been the boy’s idea. 

Oikawa put a generous amount of sunscreen on both himself and his nephew. Once he felt he had sufficiently protected them both from the sun with thick layers of the white lotion, he repacked everything into his backpack and then hoisted it up onto his shoulders. 

"The sooner we go up, the sooner we can come back down. Let's get to it, Take-chan!" Oikawa said in a sing-song voice, trying to force excitement into his words. 

"Do you think we’ll make it to the top?" Takeru asked while bouncing on his heels.

Oikawa's mind produced a horrifying image: he was covered in sweat and sitting on a rock directly under the sun while Takeru ran circles around him. The prospect of that did not please him. "We’ll see how we feel as we go," he replied dryly. 

It's not that Oikawa didn’t like exercise; he made it to the gym very regularly, and he tried to play volleyball whenever he could. However, his knee injury from his high school volleyball days still bothered him. When the pain that worsened with strenuous use wasn’t from volleyball, or within an air conditioned gym building, it was hard to feel any enjoyment over the insistent ache of his knee. 

Yet here he was, beginning a hike up a steep trail under the hot sun. He had a frequent tendency to give in to his nephew's whims; climbing this mountain was the most recent example of that. Perhaps the blame could be placed on the guilt of having much less time to spend with his nephew since he had moved away after getting a new job. 

While Oikawa enjoyed the challenge of his career, it left him with much less time to spend with his relatives that now lived several hours away. Visiting them now required setting aside a whole day. 

Oikawa's sister would be picking Takeru up that evening; the boy had spent a three day weekend with his uncle. Oikawa had not been able to get out of a work deadline, and it had made him miss Takeru's birthday party two weeks previous. So he had planned a fun weekend together to make it up to his favorite, and only, nephew. He even let the boy pick most of the activities.

But he hadn’t expected hiking to be one of them.

The two of them went up the trail and walked along steadily for about forty-five minutes; Oikawa was moving along unhurried while Takeru repeatedly zipped ahead and then raced back down the trail. After Takeru had a couple close shaves with almost bumping into other hikers, Oikawa insisted that the boy stick by his side as they looked for a good resting spot along the trail.

He glanced down at Takeru, mentally noting that his nephew's head came up to about his waist. It didn't seem so long ago that he was holding Takeru's hands as the boy was learning to take his first steps. Where had the time gone?

They came to a wider part of the trail that flattened out into a small rest area, where there were some benches against the steep mountain wall. A wonderful view of the vast forest below could be seen from the guard rails that ran along the edge of the trail there. The guard rails were panels of black bars. Extra tall ones ran along the entire ledge of the vista point; they prevented people from coming too close to the edge of the cliff that the vista point was located on. 

Takeru was pressed against that railing while marveling at how high up they were.

"Come have a snack and some water, Take-chan," Oikawa called from where he sat heavily on one of the benches. 

His knee was already protesting painfully at being overused, so he decided that he would have to convince Takeru that they should head back down the mountain after their snack break.

But considering how Takeru's legs were bouncing even after the boy came and sat beside him, Oikawa felt sure that there would be some argument about turning back. His nephew would probably insist on climbing higher up, to the top. He knew he might need to offer the boy an incentive, like the promise of ice cream on the way home; it was a bribe that he was more than willing to make.

Takeru hungrily wolfed down his refreshments. Oikawa had built up an appetite as well, and worked on eating some trail mix that he had made; it had white chocolate chips, cashews, cranberries, and almonds. He had also packed some unsweetened green tea for himself and some homemade lemonade for his nephew. 

There had been very few hikers out so far; Oikawa had seen none aside from the two different couples that Takeru had almost ran into earlier. _'It's not surprising that no one else wants to come up here this late in the day,'_ he thought to himself. It was so terribly warm out, and he had worked up a good sweat. He nonchalantly sniffed at himself and was relieved that he mostly just smelled like his body spray. He liked to always be prepared to make the best first impression possible; one could never know when they’d be meeting new people, after all.

Oikawa started to feel more energized once he’d finished his snack; his knee was in no less pain though. While he started to mentally prepare himself for convincing Takeru to head back down the mountain, a man in a park ranger uniform came walking down the path from further up.

Oikawa noticed the park ranger and looked over; he quickly took in the sight of the man’s tan skin, dark spikey hair, and serious expression. A little smirk crossed Oikawa’s lips as he studied the stranger. The park ranger was well built and muscular; everything about the man seemed fitting for someone who probably spends a lot of time hiking around outdoors. 

And best of all, the man was practically eye candy. The park ranger uniform reminded Oikawa of the outfit worn by Dwayne Johnson in the Jumanji remake. He let out a very quiet hum of appreciation and let his eyes linger on the stranger.

Meanwhile, the park ranger looked at Oikawa. He seemed to notice that he was being checked out, since Oikawa wasn’t being subtle with his staring. His eyes briefly looked down at Oikawa’s knee, where there was a lightweight knee brace.

Suddenly, a loud sound stole the park ranger's attention. He looked to where Takeru was yelling into the big blue sky while leaning against a guard rail. The boy had his arms spread up and out. Various animal noises and shouts were coming from Takeru, and the boy seemed quite pleased with the way the sounds carried across the valley below. The man smiled at the boy’s youthful enthusiasm. 

The park ranger then connected the energetic boy to the man who was obviously in pain. "Are you and your son alright, sir? Seems like your knee may be giving you trouble," he said while nodding towards Oikawa. 

Oikawa snapped out of what had become embarrassingly obvious ogling. "My... son? Oh no, that’s my sister’s kid. I'll have you know that I have no children, nor am I married, nor in a relationship." he said on impulse, giving a flirty smile while he was at it.

The park ranger stared at Oikawa, looking almost amused. A small grin was playing on his lips and his cheeks became slightly flushed; it wasn’t clear whether the blush was from Oikawa’s comment or from the heat of the air. 

"My name’s Oikawa Tooru, and that’s my nephew Takeru," Oikawa said with a charming tilt of his head. He hadn’t expected to meet such an attractive man while out hiking. He wished he wasn’t wearing such drab clothing; he was dressed in cargo shorts, a worn out shirt, and clunky hiking boots.

"I'm Iwaizumi Hajime, a park ranger here. Excuse my mistake about your nephew, he certainly looks like you," Iwaizumi said as he glanced between Oikawa and Takeru.

Oikawa laughed playfully. "Ah well, it's lucky for him that he takes after my looks. My sister married a very plain man, and all the best family features skipped over her and came straight to me. People can hardly tell that she and I are related. So, Iwa-chan, how do you like being a park ranger? I'm sure you see some interesting things."

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on the nickname. "I’ve certainly seen some interesting people. Are you going to be able to walk with your knee like that?"

Oikawa thought there was a pointed way that Iwaizumi had just looked at him; he felt himself blush slightly, since he assumed that the man was attempting to flirt. "It's just an old injury, I’ll be fine. But I do appreciate your concern! However... if you're offering a piggyback ride down the mountain, I'd have a hard time refusing."

Iwaizumi huffed a short laugh at that. "I doubt that I could carry you very far, Shittykawa."

"Shittykawa? What kind of nickname is that?!" Oikawa asked with a pout. 

"Well it's not any worse than the nickname that you just gave me," Iwaizumi teased. "I could radio in for some crutches, if you want. Our medic could probably bring them up here.”

Oikawa flipped his hair as much as he could with how his sweat was making it stick to his forehead. "My nickname for you is adorable! I don’t appreciate the one you picked for me. And I don't need crutches.” 

“You’re the stubborn type, aren't you?” Iwaizumi asked with a teasing grin. 

Oikawa gave a smirk. “Maybe I am.”

There was a brief silence and Oikawa felt himself growing more curious about the handsome park ranger. Plus, he didn’t want the conversation to stop yet; he’d like to get the man’s phone number by the end of it. “So, do you ever work out here at night, Iwa-chan? I bet the sky looks beautiful when it’s dark here."

Iwaizumi grinned openly at that, and his eyes seemed to twinkle a bit. "The stars are pretty amazing from here. You'd never see anything like it in the city. You know, you can book a night tour through the ranger station. I host those once a week. It's something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime.”

A sudden scream drew both of the men’s attention to where Takeru had been playing. Only, the scene was drastically different than it had been a few moments before. One panel of guard railing lay bent over flat, and Takeru had been flipped over the ledge along with it. The boy was hanging onto one of the bars of the broken guard rail with white knuckles as his body dangled over the steep drop. 

Sudden fear and adrenaline hit both Oikawa and Iwaizumi; they snapped into action at the same time.

Oikawa jumped up and went to run towards his nephew. But he felt something in his knee pop painfully as a result of the sudden shift of his weight. He grimaced in pain and fell down in the middle of the path.

Iwaizumi, who was closer to the ledge, reached Takeru in two long strides. He grabbed the boy’s wrist securely with one hand. His other hand reached to grab onto a guard rail that was still stable.

Takeru was screaming in panic; even though Iwaizumi had a firm grasp on him, the boy's eyes were locked down at the sheer drop below his feet. 

Iwaizumi braced himself and pulled Takeru up in one go. He went flying onto his back, landing on the path right beside Oikawa from the momentum. He had caught Takeru on his chest.

Oikawa scrambled across the ground to close the short distance between them, and then pulled Takeru into his arms. The boy’s screams had turned into shaking sobs. Oikawa himself was on the verge of tears as he struggled to take in what had just happened. 

"Well, shit," Iwaizumi said as he breathed in and out raggedly. "I've never seen anything like that happen before."

"Take-chan," Oikawa managed in a whisper. "You're safe now. It's okay." 

Takeru pressed his face into his Uncle's chest as his sobs slowed down.

Oikawa took a few moments to hold Takeru tightly. He brushed through his nephew's hair with one of his hands and took a few deep breaths. Then he looked over at Iwaizumi and studied the man’s face; he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that was overlapping with the attraction he had already been feeling for the man.

A few quiet minutes passed. 

The adrenaline that was still pumping through Oikawa gave him a flash of impulsivity. "You know... we were going to get ice cream on our way home. I think it would be appropriate to have you join us, Iwa-chan. What with you being my nephew’s savior and all."

Takeru, who's crying had dulled to an occasional whimper, perked up immediately at the mention of dessert. "Ice cream!?" The boy turned his head towards Iwaizumi. "And you're coming too? It was so cool how you pulled me up, you're just like superman! I'm Takeru and I just turned seven!"

The boy looked between Oikawa and Iwaizumi with a happy grin. His life threatening ordeal seemed to be forgotten at the mention of getting ice cream. His smile was big and genuine despite the tear tracks on his face. 

Iwaizumi cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you, Takeru. I'm Iwaizumi Hajime, and I’m a park ranger. It's part of my job to make sure things are safe around here. I'd love to join you both for ice cream, but I need to get some of my friends up here to help me fix the broken guard rail. I'm going to have to stay here until the others can come to help." 

“You have a cool job,’ Takeru said cheerfully. He didn’t seem that upset that Iwaizumi wouldn’t be coming along for the frozen treat.

But Oikawa was feeling pretty disappointed about it, if he was honest with himself. He wasn’t yet giving up on scoring the man’s phone number, though. And when it came down to it, his knee was going to make getting down the mountain a real problem. He frowned slightly at the thought of having to try to use crutches; he was in a pretty significant amount of pain.

Takeru suddenly decided he'd had enough cuddling, so he went to bounce up off of Oikawa's lap. 

"Fuck!" Oikawa hissed as he grabbed at his injured knee; Takeru had knocked into it pretty hard.

"That's a bad word!" Takeru said playfully as he went to jump on and off the nearby benches. 

Oikawa looked down at his knee, and then looked up at Iwaizumi. "We wouldn't mind waiting to go get ice cream until you’re done with work, you know. I'm not going to be able to walk right away, so we’ll just keep you company while you wait for your coworkers. Then maybe I can take you up on that piggyback ride,” he said with a wink as he tried to ignore his pain.

Iwaizumi got up and stood behind Oikawa, then went to help the man up by the elbows. "I already said I wasn't piggybacking you down this mountain, Trashykawa. But let's get you off the ground and over to that bench."

‘I don’t like that nickname either, Iwa-chan,” said Oikawa as he grimaced while moving to stand. It was a painful few hops over to the bench. Once he was finally seated, he gingerly stretched out his leg. He knew this feeling well; his old injury was inflamed, and the recovery was going to be a huge inconvenience.

“You look like you’re in a lot of pain,” Iwaizumi commented in an almost soft voice. 

Oikawa did his best to keep his voice smooth and flirty, though he knew the pain was making him seem more sarcastic than he meant to sound. "You certainly _are_ sweet, Iwa-chan. First you’re Superman for Take-chan, and now you’re worried for my health."

Iwaizumi let out a huff. "I'm not worried, Crappykawa. You’ll live.”

“Will I though? My chances of survival would go way up if you’d promise me a piggyback ride,” Oikawa said with a little grin. “And I’m starting to think you’re really bad at nicknames.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I promise I’ll get you down this mountain, but not on my back. I’m going to radio my coworkers for some help," he said as pulled a radio from his pocket and pressed the speaker button. "This is Iwaizumi. I've got a situation." 

A voice came through the radio almost immediately. "Roger that, Iwaizumi. This is Daichi. What's the problem?” 

"I've got a hiker with an injury. It’s not life threatening, but he can’t walk. He’s accompanied by a child. We had a guard rail fall over while the child was leaning against it. The child’s safe, and the hiker's injury is unrelated to that. I need maintenance up here immediately to secure the broken guard rail. I also need a stretcher, and someone to come help me carry the hiker. We’re at the second lookout spot."

Daichi’s calm voice came back through the radio. "Ushijima, can you get a stretcher up there? Tsukishima, please head up to the second look out and get the railing secured as soon as you can." 

"This is Tsukishima. I’ll be there shortly to secure the railing."

"This is Ushijima. I am treating Nishinoya and Tanaka for injuries, as they were playing with bear cubs again. I am unable to bring the stretcher at this time, but Kuroo is here and does not seem to be occupied. I will send him with the stretcher."

"Bokuto here! I'll go with Kuroo! I've always wanted to have a hero moment! Is the injured hiker cute?"

"Oh ho ho ho, why do you care if the hiker’s cute? Isn't there a certain black haired guy you've been crushing on?"

“Don’t tell everyone about that, Kuroo!”

“They already know, dude. You’re way too easy to read,” Kuroo’s voice replied playfully.

Daichi's voice cut in again. "Kuroo, Bokuto, keep this line professional. You all know what you need to do. So get to it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the jokes that were probably way funnier in my head.

Back at the ranger station, Kuroo was pulling a stretcher out from the supply closet that was in the medical room. He was also chuckling to himself at the sounds of the complaints coming from Nishinoya and Tanaka, who were sitting together on a couple of the exam tables in the generously sized room.

The two men were soaking wet from head to toe; they had fallen into a lake while running from a mama bear that didn't appreciate them playing with her cubs. Nishinoya’s dark brown hair was usually styled up to make him seem taller, but it was now flat and limp from his unexpected swim. The little streak of blonde in his bangs was practically hidden under the rest of his hair. 

Tanaka had no such problem, as he kept his hair buzzed short. But his ranger uniform was just as uncomfortably wet as Nishinoya’s was. Bokuto had just gone to get towels for them when the radio call from Iwaizumi came through.

Nishinoya was one of the wild animal experts at the station. Ever since Tanaka had been hired six months previous, the two men acted like partners in crime; or partners in getting into risky situations, more accurately. The pair had become known for trying to play with wild animals.

Tanaka had gotten his ranger position thanks to Nishinoya's recommendation. They were already best friends, so being coworkers as well seemed like it would be fun; it ended up being their best idea ever. 

Ushijima, who had short olive brown hair with soft brown eyes to match, was calm as he cleaned Nishinoya’s scraps and cuts. "I would have thought you had learned bear cubs are not for petting, after last time this happened."

"Mama bears are not for petting, my friend. But the cubs are a whole different story. They’re really shy at first, but then they get so cuddly. They’re basically just oversized puppies! They remind me of my boyfriend, actually. He’s shy as hell, but he can leave a mark when he wants too," Nishinoya said shamelessly. 

"Ooh la la," came Kuroo's instant reply. He winked from behind his curtain of black bangs that were connected to his chronic bedhead. “I never get tired of you bragging about having a boyfriend, by the way. Please rub that in my face more often.”

“You’ll find the right dude or lady someday,” Nishinoya cheerfully said. He glanced over at Tanaka. “Do you know any single people?”

Tanaka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I feel like everyone I know is already part of a couple.” 

“Would you like me to ask my husband if he has any single friends?” Ushijima asked sincerely. 

Kuroo grinned. “I’d love to ask him myself. You should really bring Satori around more often.”

“He is out of the country on a business trip,” Ushijima replied. “I will tell him that you want to see him, though. He finds you amusing.”

“What does he think of me?” Tanaka asked as Ushijima wrapped a bandage around his elbow.

Ushijima hummed. “I do not believe he has ever mentioned you. The only time he has seen you was back at that barbecue we all did a month ago.”

“Didn’t you guys get chased by a bear back then, too?” Kuroo asked as he leaned the tall stretcher against the side of his body.

"I've got ninety-nine problems, and that mama bear is at least half of 'em!" Tanaka barked out while laughing.

"Ha! That was a good one!" Bokuto said as he came into the room. He tossed some towels at Nishinoya and Tanaka so they could dry themselves off.

Nishinoya caught a towel with one hand while also laughing loudly at his good friend's bad joke. 

"I do not see what you find so amusing. Bears are dangerous. And this is the seventh time you have played with bear cubs. Do you not worry that it makes you seem unintelligent to continue making the same mistake?" Ushijima spoke without taking his attention away from where he was now bandaging Tanaka's wrist. 

“You just don’t have a funny bone in your whole body," Tanaka said in reply.

Bokuto’s body seemed to deflate when he heard Kuroo’s comment; all but his black and white streaked hair, which was styled with more than enough gel to prevent any accidental loss of volume. "Wow, I didn't know he was missing his funny bone. That's really sad."

Ushijima turned towards Bokuto with a serious expression. "You do know, I hope, that there is no such thing as a funny bone within the human body. I am certain of this, as I learned nothing of it in my many years at medical school."

Bokuto continued to look like he had just learned something very sad about his coworker. He mindlessly ran a hand over his heavily gelled hair, which was styled into two points that made him look rather owlish. And that was intentional; he was the other wild animal specialist at the ranger station, and he was enthusiastic about his love of owls. He had owl themed bed sheets, owl covered boxers, and owlish hair. 

Kuroo nudged Bokuto with his elbow. "We need to hurry up and go find out the condition of that hiker. Iwaizumi didn’t sound too worried, though. I wonder if the damsel in distress is single."

“Iwaizumi has first dibs,” Nishinoya said playfully. “He’s been single even longer than you.”

Kuroo chuckled. “He’s probably still single because he’s such an uptight grouch who’s unnecessarily mean. I have no idea why _I’m_ still single, though.”

“You’re just single because you have high standards, and that’s okay,” Bokuto said encouragingly while grinning at Kuroo.

“Iwaizumi may be serious about work, but I do not feel that he is impolite,” Ushijima commented. 

Nishinoya slid off the table now that his wounds were fully bandaged. “He’s never rude to you because you’re quiet and calm. It’s us naturally loud folks that he’s mean to.” 

“And everyone in this room, except Ushijima, is naturally loud,” Tanaka said with a smirk.

Kuroo chuckled. “I’m not that loud, actually.”

“When you laugh, I can hear you from wherever I am in the station,” Tanaka retorted. 

Bokuto ruffled Kuroo’s hair. “And such a beautiful laugh he has.”

Kuroo pushed Bokuto’s hand off his hair. “We seriously need to get going. Iwaizumi might yell at us if we take too much longer.”

"Let's go, go, go!" Bokuto bellowed as he shouldered the first aid kit and smacked Kuroo's back playfully. 

Kuroo led the way while holding the rolled up stretcher under one arm. The two men left the medical room and walked down the hallway, bumping into each other as they went while cracking jokes. Then they walked past the large windows looking into the cafeteria, which was where Kuroo spent a lot of time; cooking was his area of speciality. Or rather, one of his many areas of specialties.

Kuroo had double majored in college, studying both microbiology and chemistry. And he likened cooking to science; he had a fond interest in mixing ingredients to get different results. His food creations were delicious. Though sometimes, and with suspicious motivation, the meals came out barely edible. 

Kuroo had invested a lot of time into getting his degrees. But that was just due to his interest in the subjects and his love for learning, as well as his dad’s desire for him to go to college. He loved his job as a park ranger and enjoyed working with his best friend Bokuto. And he found many ways to apply his learned knowledge while working in the vast and mountainous wilderness park. 

Opposite of the cafeteria was the common area; it looked similar to a large living room. There were multiple bedroom doors along the back wall. Some of the park rangers lived on site, since room and board was included with the job.

Then there were those who didn't live on sight. 

Tsukishima, Ushijima, and Kageyama all lived in the town about 45 minutes from the wilderness preserve. Tanaka and Nishinoya lived on a big plot of land together; there were two houses on their property, one for each of them. The property was about 30 minutes away from the station and 25 minutes from town. 

Tanaka was married to Shimizu, who didn't take Tanaka's name because her family name was tied to the company she owned. Nishinoya's longtime boyfriend, Asahi, worked as Shimizu's secretary at Shimizu Publishing, which was a well known company with many high profile clients. Tanaka and Nishinoya always commuted to the preserve in Nishinoya's bright orange jeep. 

Further down the hall, past the cafeteria and the common space, was Daichi’s office. Kuroo and Bokuto waved obnoxiously to their boss through the office window as they passed. 

Daichi shooed the two men on with one hand as he swiveled his chair around to focus on his phone call. His forehead was scrunched and his mouth was set in a serious line. He was on a call with one of his superiors, and had let the man know that there’d been a safety issue on the trail. 

His fingers drummed on the arm of his chair as he replied to his direct supervisor, Takeda Ittetsu. The man wanted to start a conference call with Ukai Keishin, the manager of public affairs.

"I don't have all the details yet, Takeda-san. I just wanted to let you know to expect a report soon. Iwaizumi-san was on the scene, and he’ll get a full report written up for me. I can forward that to you by tomorrow morning."

"I see. Thank you for letting me know, Sawamura-san. We'll do our conference call tomorrow then, once I have the full report. As you know, our first concern is the man who was injured. We also must consider the emotional well being of the child that was involved. I’m anxious to have a complete understanding of what happened. Ukai-san will want to cover all the bases and prevent a lawsuit, of course."

Daichi nodded to himself as Takeda continued talking.

"If the hiker’s willing and able, please get an incident statement from them. And assure them that we’ll cover any medical expenses that were caused by negligence of park upkeep. Perhaps a complimentary pass to the observatory, or a free stay in one of our cabins for a weekend would also be in order. Do whatever you must, Sawamura-san. I'll wait for the report and we’ll talk again tomorrow."

Takeda sounded calm and thoughtful, as usual.

"Understood, Takeda-san. I'll take care of things here and I'll speak to you tomorrow," Daichi said. He hung up the phone and ran his hand down his face. This was the first incident involving a child that he would be overseeing, after having been Chief Ranger for the past four years. 

But part of why he was promoted to Chief Ranger, back at the age of twenty-four, was because he had handled many situations as a park ranger with the kind of level headedness and quick thinking that was necessary to save lives. He was also good at keeping the whole crew's spirits lifted while also guiding them to stay on task. 

Iwaizumi was also very good at being level headed and thoughtful in stressful situations. However, his temper tended to be a little on the short side when it came to his coworkers. But when a situation became critical, Iwaizumi jumped into action with a clear head and an iron willed resolve. Those skills would someday make him the perfect candidate for Chief Ranger, if he ever wanted to pursue it. 

For now, it made Iwaizumi a reliable second in command.

It was because of his trust in Iwaizumi that Daichi himself was able to keep calm despite this being his first incident that involved a child; or at least, his first incident involving a child while he was Chief Ranger. 

He had been part of one other incident that involved a child; it had been in the year before he was promoted. A young girl had wandered away from her family's cabin. She then fell into a hole in the ground which had been part of a construction site, where an observatory was being built. 

The girl's parents had been frantic and inconsolable. Thankfully, the little girl was found shortly after she disappeared. Bokuto and Kuroo were the ones to find her; they swifty pulled her out of the deep hole and returned her safely to her parents.

That experience had given Daichi a new understanding; when a person's child was in danger, they would lose all sense of anything else. Their sole focus was their child. And anyone who might be to blame was subjected to wrath and fury unlike anything else Daichi experienced before. 

The little girl's parents had threatened to sue and had vowed never to return to the park again. They even said they'd tell all their friends about the dangerous condition of the park. 

Takeda personally drove out to speak with the little girl’s parents on the same day as the incident. By some miracle of the man's profound ability to apologize and extend sympathy, the family decided not to sue. But it had been a very stressful experience for everyone involved. 

With those memories flashing through his mind, Daichi rubbed his hand over his face once more and took his radio out. "Tsukishima, please be sure to get pictures of the broken railing for our records."

"Of course, sir. I wouldn't dream of forgetting," Tsukishima said over his radio with more bite than necessary.

Tsukishima always seemed to have more bite than necessary; that, or no interest at all. He was a very tall man with short blonde hair, and his presence could be intimidating just from his height alone. But when he stared down at someone through his glasses, with his eyes squinting in disapproval as a frown rested on his lips, it made it clear that he was not going to take anyone's crap. 

That included Kageyama, who was hired just three months earlier. He moved into the area with his boyfriend around that time. Kageyama's job was to apprentice under Tsukishima and learn park maintenance. 

Tsukishima had been the sole park maintenance worker for 5 years. He didn't take kindly to having a shadow who always asked questions and was over eager to learn. Something about Kageyama got on his nerves. 

And the same could be said for Kageyama; Tsukishima got on his nerves, as well. The dark haired, dark eyed, serious young man didn’t easily understand sarcasm. It's part of the reason he had declined when Hinata's friend Kenma had offered him a job as a server. He didn't want to work for Kenma; the man's deadpan humor and sarcasm often went over his head. And the man's sharp gaze tended to drill into Kageyama's soul and make him feel exposed. 

When Kegeyama took the job as a maintenance worker for the large wildlife and nature preserve, he didn’t know that he’d have to work with someone even more unreadable than Kenma. Tsukishima was more than fluent in sarcasm and had some very harsh expressions. There was a lot of bickering between the two men at first, but they had come to an understanding; they would just avoid speaking to each other unless absolutely necessary and work related.

"Get both tool bags from the shed. I'm going to grab the camera from our office," Tsukishima said in a bland voice. He didn’t bother to look at Kageyama as he spoke.

Kageyama grunted in response and went towards the shed. 

Not long after, Kageyama and Tsukishima headed towards the main trailhead. They each had a large bag slung on one shoulder. Suddenly, there was loud laughter behind them. When Kageyama turned his head, he saw Bokuto and Kuroo coming up behind him. 

"Hello boys! On the way to check out the hiker with the potential to be Iwaizumi's damsel in distress, are we? Don't try to butt in on his action," Kuroo said playfully. His mouth tilted into a crooked grin while he winked at Kageyama and Tsukishima. 

Kageyama frowned. But before he could speak, Tsukishima replied to Kuroo dryly. "You know I'm in a happy relationship, you've met Tadashi multiple times. He’ll be heartbroken if you've forgotten him."

It was Bokuto who replied. "Of course we didn't forget Yamaguchi, he’s a great guy. And the food he makes is amazing. The Cozy Cat wouldn't be the same without his cooking. Though we all still wonder what made him settle for you of all people, Tsukki."

Kuroo laughed heartily and slapped Bokuto's shoulder a couple times.

Tsukishima turned to glare at the two men, but they were both immune to it. The pair had been working at the ranger station for a year longer than him; they never let him forget that they were technically his superiors. Kageyama may piss Tsukishima off on accident, but Bokuto and Kuroo pissed him off on purpose. 

Kageyama seemed surprised by what he just heard. "Wait… your boyfriend is Yamaguchi? The one who cooks at The Cozy Cat?" His voice conveyed his surprise, as well as undertones of irritation. His irritation likely came from the jealousy he often felt towards Yamaguchi; Hinata often gushed over the man’s cooking skills and kindness.

Tsukishima turned to Kageyama and looked down at the man with his piercing gaze. "Why do you want to know?" 

Kageyama didn't shrink away from the gaze; he was too intrigued with the new information he had learned. "My boyfriend, Shoyo, works there as a server. His best friend owns The Cozy Cat. That's actually why we moved here, so he could work for Kenma." 

Tsukishima's expression became indiscernible. "I didn't realize that Kenma had friends, let alone a best friend. But I've only met the man on a handful of occasions in all the years I’ve lived here. According to my boyfriend, he spends most of his time managing all of his business endeavors and the rest of his time playing or designing video games."

Tsukishima turned around to look back at the trailhead. "Oh, and I've met Hinata. I'm surprised the two of you get along." With that, he walked ahead and left the others behind.

Kuroo turned to Kageyama and clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. "I knew you were gay! My dear boy, you’ve made me a pretty penny today, and I thank you." He then turned to Bokuto. "Do I have the most accurate gay detection skills ever, or what? You and the guys owe me some cash. And I believe that you and I had also thrown in two months worth of my cleaning shifts."

Bokuto’s body deflated sadly over the loss of money and the addition of chores in his immediate future.

Kuroo laughed heartily and punched Bokuto in the chest. Then he started up the path after Tsukishima. "Let's go then! Curiosity killed the cat, and I’m dying to know what Iwaizumi's damsel looks like."

Bokuto was droopy as he followed after Kuroo. His disappointment was weighing heavily on him, and it showed. 

Kageyama reluctantly followed his coworkers up the trail; he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to them. They were an odd bunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At a certain point in this chapter, you may have felt compelled to chant "let's go Dateko."


	3. Chapter 3

A voice came over Iwaizumi’s radio as he was sitting beside Oikawa on the bench. 

"Iwaizumi, come in. This is Daichi.”

"I hear you, Daichi. Go ahead,” said Iwaizumi. 

"Bokuto and Kuroo are on their way with the first aid kit and a stretcher. Tsukishima and Kageyama are with them. ETA less than 30 minutes. How’s the injured hiker holding up?"

"He’s hanging in there. Thanks for the update," Iwaizumi said as he glanced at Oikawa. The man was watching him curiously.

Suddenly, Kuroo’s voice came over the radio; his smirk was practically audible. "Is the damsel in distress smitten with you? I can step in as his hero if you can’t handle it.”

"It’s not like you could handle it any better," came Tsukishima's voice, which was as flat as a pancake. 

"My best friend could sweep anyone off their feet!" Bokuto yelled over the radio. 

"Thanks, bro! You could sweep anyone off their feet, too," Kuroo's voice crooned in reply. 

Only Kageyama and Tsukishima could see Bokuto and Kuroo grinning goofily as they needlessly talked to each other over the radio.

"Aw, bro. You mean it?" 

"Bro, you know it. By the way everyone, Kageyama’s dating a guy. Which means almost everyone at the station is gay, just like I said. So pay up on our bet. I expect what I'm owed by tonight. And I mean cash, unless you want to negotiate with favors. I could use..."

Kuroo's sentence was cut off as Daichi's voice snapped across the radio. "I'll say this again. Keep this line open for work related communications. If you have this much energy to joke around, you're not walking fast enough!" 

The radio stayed silent after that. 

Iwaizumi shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d had years of exposure to these guys, and they still got a little weirder every day. And worst of all was that Oikawa had heard all of that; he wanted to make a good impression on the man, but his coworkers would make that a challenge.

"So… when your coworker says that almost everyone’s gay, does that include you?" Oikawa asked with a cheeky grin; his eyes were slightly glazed over as he tried to ignore the pain radiating from knee. 

Iwaizumi could feel the edge in Oikawa's voice and felt bad that the man was in so much pain. "Yeah, I’m gay. But I’m not dating anyone,” he said. He was hoping it wasn’t obvious that he really wanted the man to know he was available. 

Oikawa closed his eyes and gave a somewhat relieved sigh. “I’m glad you’re single, Iwa-chan. I need a distraction from my knee, so tell me more about your coworkers. Who’s dating who?”

After a short pause, Iwaizumi replied to Oikawa’s question. "None of my coworkers are dating each other. Tsukishima is dating one of the cooks at The Cozy Cat restaurant. One of our newer recruits, Tanaka, is married to the CEO of Shimizu Publishing. And Noya, one of our wildlife specialists, has been dating the CEO's secretary for a long time now. I don’t know who Kageyama’s dating.”

"No way!" Oikawa said, suddenly opening his eyes and looking at Iwaizumi. "I started working at Shimizu Publishing a few months ago, as an advertising manager.”

Iwaizumi hadn’t expected that information, but he was glad to learn that Oikawa lived pretty close by. Hikers came from all over, and there would have been a good chance that he’d never get to see Oikawa again if the man had lived far away. "So you'd know Sugawara and Akaashi, then?"

"Of course, refreshing-kun and serious-kun." Oikawa replied with a small grin. “They’re already good friends of mine. I feel like I’ve known them forever.” 

Iwaizumi hummed thoughtfully at the coincidence. "So, my boss has a huge crush on Sugawara. Shimizu Publishing hosts a wilderness retreat here a few times a year. My boss and Sugawara flirt constantly during those events, but neither of them seems to be able to take the next step." 

“Maybe they need someone to give them a little push,” Oikawa said with a slightly mischievous wink. 

Iwaizumi realized that he was saying a lot more than he should be, especially to a perfect stranger. But even knowing that, he couldn't seem to stop. Something about Oikawa felt surprisingly safe and comfortable. There was this ease in being around the man. It was like taking off your shoes, putting on your ugly sweatpants and curling up on the couch; Oikawa felt like home. 

"You also mentioned Akaashi, so someone must have a crush on him. Do you go for the silent type, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked. He was definitely fishing for information, and he was watching Iwaizumi closely as he waited for the answer.

Without even having to try, Iwaizumi picked up on the jealous undertone in Oikawa’s voice. If the man were not in so much pain, he might have dragged it out more with some teasing; instead he just chuckled. "No, Akaashi isn't my type. He’s Bokuto’s type, though. That’s another one of my coworkers.”

“Akaashi hasn’t mentioned liking anyone,” Oikawa remarked thoughtfully. “Had Bokuto tried to ask him out, yet?”

Iwaizumi chuckled. “Bokuto barely manages to speak to Akaashi at all when he sees the guy. So he kind of just pines from afar. I’d be surprised if Akaashi hasn’t noticed, though, because Bokuto’s the most open book you'll ever meet. You'll find out soon enough, he’s on his way here with the others to help carry you on the stretcher.”

"But I was looking forward to a piggyback ride," Oikawa said in a playful voice. He then sighed and closed his eyes again while gingerly adjusting his injured leg. 

Iwaizumi decided to give Oikawa a break from talking. "I'm going to check out the railing that collapsed,” he said as he stood up. A few things were clear to him: he was attracted to Oikawa; Oikawa seemed to be interested in him too; and Oikawa was in a significant amount of pain. He wished he could do something to relieve the man’s discomfort.

Meanwhile, Takeru had been entertaining himself on the ground next to the benches by playing in mud; he had made it with water from one of the bottles Oikawa had packed. He was quite the mess.

Iwaizumi reminded Takeru to stay close to the benches before he walked over to examine the broken railing. It seemed like the cause was erosion of the soil at the base of the panel. He tried to think of ways to make the railing safer and sturdier, but he was also trying to keep his mind from wandering back to Oikawa. 

But that was hard to do; it was like the man had invaded his thoughts. There'd never been someone who felt so gravitational for Iwaizumi. He wanted to stay close to Oikawa. He wanted to learn more about the man. He even wanted to do cute couple things with Oikawa, and he’d never felt like doing that with anyone before. 

A loud laugh pulled Iwaizumi from his thoughts, and he looked for the source of the sudden noise. There had been no other hikers since the incident. That wasn't that surprising, given the weather. A ways down the path, he could see four men; they were his coworkers.

Tsukishima was in the lead. The man looked as irritated as he usually was; he’d probably been subjected to dealing with Bokuto and Kuroo’s taunting during the whole hike up the trail. The two men were right behind him. 

Bokuto was holding onto the back of Kuroo’s shirt. It seemed like he had physically deflated; he was hunched forward and being dragged onward by his best friend. Several feet behind them was Kageyama, who had been looking over at the lovely view of the forest below.

As they drew closer, Iwaizumi waved a hand at them. 

Bokuto didn't notice; the man was staring at his feet as he walked. Tsukishima ignored the wave and gave no acknowledgement, while Kageyama gave a small wave and a nod. And Kuroo gave a very devilish grin. 

It was that grin which caused Iwaizumi to frown slightly. He was really hoping that his coworkers wouldn’t do anything embarrassing. But his hopes were always being dashed by the goofy guys he worked with; especially by Kuroo, who basically lived to tease him.

As if he had mentally rehearsed, Kuroo dramatically thrust the rolled stretcher up towards the sky and started yelling. "Alas, a damsel in distress! He’s injured and being held captive by that terrible dragon with spikes on its head! Worry not, fair maiden, for we have come to rescue you!"

Oikawa had opened his eyes and was assessing Kuroo with a critical expression. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to goof around; that made sense, considering the amount of pain that he was in.

Bokuto perked up at the opportunity for banter. "Say, brother knight, how shall we cut down the dragon and free the damsel he holds prisoner!?" 

"I say, we must together drive this spear into his heart!" Kuroo yelled way louder than necessary, since he was now at the part of the path that leveled out for the rest area. He stepped in front of Bokuto and continued with his dramatic speech. "Grab hold of this spear, brother. Together we shall drive away this fierce dragon, and rescue the fair maiden. If I should fall to the dragon, promise me you will care for the damsel in my stead!" 

Iwaizumi could feel his eye twitching in irritation. "Would you guys shut the hell up! Oikawa’s in some serious pain right now. I’m going to wrap his knee, then we need to get down the mountain so Ushijima can take a look at him,” he said as he stepped forward to pull the first aid bag off Bokuto's shoulder. Then he walked over to Oikawa and knelt down in front of the man.

Takeru, who was covered in mud, had taken in the dramatics with great interest. "You have to face me ‘cause I’m the real dragon!"

Bokuto noticed Takeru and gave the boy a playful smile, then worked up the theatrics. "Oh no, my brother, another dragon! And it's even fiercer than the last one! Far more dangerous!"

Kuroo jumped right in with a playful grin. "I fear we must surrender and beg the dragon to let us live as his pets."

Bokuto and Kuroo both threw themselves on the ground in front of Takeru, who was laughing at the antics of the two funny grown-ups. He immediately started giving them ridiculous commands as if they were his servants.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and moved towards the broken panel while Kageyama followed behind him. They started snapping pictures and quietly discussing how to best repair the guard rail. 

Iwaizumi looked up from where he was sitting in front of Oikawa. "I'm going to remove your brace so I can wrap your knee. It’ll make the ride down more bearable," he said as he dug through the first aid kit. He then handed Oikawa some small oval pills and a water bottle. “These will take the edge off the pain." 

Oikawa took the pills from Iwaizumi and swallowed them quickly; he then observed the scene next to him with a sideways glance. 

Takeru was having a blast playing with Kuroo and Bokuto. He was being a dragon overlord and demanding that they do silly and pointless things on his command. Because of that, Bokuto was trying to do a handstand. Next to him, Kuroo was successfully doing one; his work shirt had become untucked and was sliding down towards his face, letting his well defined abs peek out. 

Oikawa gave a smug grin and decided to be a little territorial about Iwaizumi. "When Iwa-chan is done caring for  _ his _ damsel, I suppose I could let him give you a hand in slaying that ferocious little dragon."

" _ His _ damsel?" Bokuto asked right before he face-planted, as he was no longer able to hold himself up in his attempted handstand.

" _ Iwa-chan _ ?" Kuroo plastered a crooked smirk on his upside down face; he was still holding his handstand. "Tsukki, can you check with our senpai and make sure we’re addressing him correctly?”

Tsukishima, who was unable to resist such a golden opportunity to tease someone, formed a momentary alliance with Kuroo as he replied blandly. "I think Iwa-chan would tell us if he wanted us to call him something else, Kuroo."

"We came up here to rescue a damsel in distress, but little did we know that our  _ Iwa-chan _ had already stolen the damsel’s heart," said Kuroo as he tried to hold back laughter. 

"You know, one might wonder how the damsel's knee was injured in the first place. Do you think our sweet little  _ Iwa-chan _ is a little rougher than we imagined?" Bokuto teased. 

Iwaizumi could practically feel his blood pressure rising from his irritation; he knew that his coworkers were going to hold that nickname over him forever. He cleared his throat while he gave Kuroo and Bokuto a sharp stare "Do I need to remind you idiots that we’re in the presence of a child? We’ll be having a firm discussion about this later." 

"Oh please, senpai, don't punish me!" Kuroo choked out while laughing; he finally released himself down from his handstand. 

Bokuto was laying on the ground beside Kuroo, laughing so hard that he was crying. 

"My knee isn’t going to wrap itself." Oikawa grumbled irritably. The noise around him was mixing with the heat and his pain; it was slowly pushing him into a bad mood. 

"Shut up, Shittykawa. I'm working on it," Iwaizumi replied gruffly. He returned his focus to pulling the brace off of Oikawa's knee so that he could properly wrap it.

Oikawa hissed in pain while Iwaizumi peeled the brace down and off his leg. 

As Iwaizumi went to work on wrapping Oikawa’s knee, he found himself blushing at how close he was to the man. He hoped that it would just seem like he was flushed from the weather; he didn’t want to give Oikawa or the others more ammo to tease him with.

"I do admire a man who knows how to use his hands," Oikawa said with a gasp as he bit at his knuckles. He was trying not to cry out from the pain as Iwaizumi wrapped his knee.

Iwaizumi tried to ignore the sound of Kuroo's whistle and Bokuto's snickering. "I played volleyball in highschool, and picked up a lot of wrapping techniques back then. I also had to do extensive first aid training for this job."

"You played volleyball? What position? No wait, let me guess,” said Oikawa as he studied Iwaizumi closer than he had all day. "Wing spiker," he finally said with full confidence. 

"Guess my position, too!" Bokuto said excitedly. He was currently running back and forth with Takeru on his shoulders; it had been the latest demand from the pretend little dragon.

Oikawa looked over at Bokuto with a tilt of his head and a smug grin. "You're a top. Or did you mean that you played volleyball too?" 

Bokuto smiled cheerfully. "Everyone who works at our station used to play volleyball in high school!"

"Hm, interesting," Oikawa said as he studied each of the park rangers in turn; his eyes were as focused as they could be despite the pain he was in. 

He looked first at Bokuto. "Wing spiker." 

He then observed Kuroo with a grin. "Middle blocker." 

Next he looked at Tsukishima. "You were also a middle blocker." 

Finally he looked over at Kageyama. "And you... you played setter. Just like me." He hissed through his teeth after he was done speaking because Iwaizumi had finished wrapping his knee with a tight pull. 

“That’s a neat little trick,” Iwaizumi said with a grin. He was impressed that Oikawa had guessed everyone’s old volleyball position with such accuracy.

Tsukishima was pretending not to hear anything going on behind him, so he didn’t respond to Oikawa guessing his position. 

However, Kageyama had turned around with raised eyebrows: he seemed surprised that Oikawa had guessed that he was a setter. He looked at Oikawa for a few more moments before returning his focus to the railing. 

"Let's get ready to head down the mountain. Kuroo, Bokuto, set up the stretcher," said Iwaizumi.

Bokuto and Kuroo moved to unroll the stretcher while Takeru was still up on Bokuto's shoulders. The boy looked very happy perched up there; he was grinning from ear to ear and holding onto Bokuto’s forehead. But he had been quite covered in mud still, which meant that Bokuto was now also covered in mud.

Oikawa pouted playfully at Iwaizumi. "What about my piggyback ride? You basically promised."

Before Kuroo or Bokuto could comment on that, Iwaizumi snapped a quick reply. "Did not, dumbass. And the stretcher will be way comfier than a piggyback ride."

"So you admit you’d give me a piggyback ride if not for my knee? Aw, so you're just being considerate," Oikawa said while flashing a warm smile at Iwaizumi. 

Iwaizumi ignored Oikawa's words, just as he was ignoring the growing blush on his own face. He gathered together everything that needed to come back down the mountain, including the first aid kit and Oikawa's backpack. He then unclipped his radio from his shirt pocket so he could let Daichi know what was happening.

"This is Iwaizumi. We’re heading back down the mountain with the injured hiker and the child. ETA 45 to 60 minutes. Tsukishima and Kageyama will be staying to work on the fence."

"Thanks for the update. I have a meeting with a potential financial donor in 20 minutes, but I'll join you all in the medical office when I can," Daichi replied through the radio. 

"Bokuto, you take care of Takeru and hold the first aid kit. Kuroo and I will carry Oikawa. Tsukishima, radio if you need anything," Iwaizumi said as he slipped Oikawa’s backpack onto his shoulders.

Tsukishima hummed to acknowledge Iwaizumi as he focused on digging through one of the tool bags. 

Iwaizumi stood in front of Oikawa and held his arms out, offering to help the man up. He was wearing a slight grin because he was weirdly happy to be taking care of this guy that he barely knew. He wouldn’t be able to avoid calling it a crush, at this rate.

Oikawa reached up and took Iwaizumi’s hands, then went stand on one foot. He took a few careful hops to reach the stretcher, holding onto the handsome park ranger the whole time. Iwaizumi then helped him to lay down on the stretcher. He smiled up at Iwaizumi once he was safely laid down, and grabbed hold of the man’s hands; he held them for a few moments before finally letting go. 

Having his hands held made Iwaizumi sport a fresh blush, much to his embarrassment. He couldn't think of a time in his life when he’d blushed so much in one afternoon. It was unlike him. 

Kuroo walked over to where Oikawa's feet were and reached down to hold the bars of the stretcher. "You do top and I'll do bottom,  _ Iwa-chan _ ," Kuroo said with a wink as he smirked at his coworker.

"Shut up, Kuroo," said Iwaizumi. He was planning to punch the man for embarrassing him so much in front of Oikawa, just as soon as he could.

Oikawa tilted his head back to look at Iwaizumi and smiled up at the man. "You’re my hero, you know," he said playfully. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of Iwaizumi’s blush before closing his eyes and putting an arm over his face; he was totally exhausted from the events of the day.

Kuroo and Iwaizumi lifted Oikawa up carefully, and Bokuto led the way down the mountain path. Takeru excitedly chattered to Bokuto from up on the man’s shoulders; the two of them were enjoying a game of I-spy.

"I spy with my little eye, something... green," Bokuto said loudly.

"Is it the trees down there?" Takeru replied, pointing to the valley below.

"Which one, be more specific," Bokuto teased. 

Takeru covered both of Bokuto’s eyes with his small hands and laughed gleefully. “Now what do you spy?”

“Something dark,” Bokuto replied with a chuckle. 

The two quickly moved ahead on the path, seeming to have forgotten about the group behind them.

Kuroo grinned as he watched his friend hurry down the path with Takeru. "It's so nice that Bokuto has someone willing to play I-spy with him. Iwaizumi, if you start dating this damsel and become a stepdad, let's arrange playdates for our kids."

Iwaizumi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "That's not Oikawa's kid. It's his nephew." 

Kuroo was quick to reply. "I can’t help but notice that you didn't deny wanting to date Oikawa." 

Iwaizumi couldn't see Kuroo’s face, but he’d be willing to bet that the man’s eyebrows were wiggling. He mentally noted that he now owed Kuroo at least five punches.

Oikawa spoke from where he was still resting under the crook of his arm. "Don't be jealous, Kuroo. Not everyone has the looks to tame the heart of a dragon."

Iwaizumi had the sudden impulse to flick Oikawa's forehead, and would have done so if he’d had a free hand. He didn’t think it was fair that he was suddenly being teased by both Kuroo and Oikawa; but he did like that Oikawa didn’t seem opposed to dating him. Since he couldn’t flick the man’s forehead, he gave the stretcher a little bounce instead.

"Iwa-chan! My knee,” Oikawa said with a pout as he uncovered his face. 

"Why have I been turned into a dragon?" Iwaizumi said with a slight grin; he wasn’t hiding his amusement very well. 

"I'm a treasure and you want to keep me all to yourself. That’s very dragon like," replied Oikawa with a flirtatious grin. He then braced himself in case Iwaizumi shook him again. 

"Not only that! You've got a fiery temper, and you prefer to be on top of mountains," Kuroo teased. "And on top of others, I'd bet. Watch your ass, Oikawa." 

"I think Iwaizumi should be the one watching my ass," Oikawa shot back. He looked up at Iwaizumi and winked. 

There was a dark blush that was practically becoming a permanent part of Iwaizumi's neck, face and ears. "Shut it, you two," he said as he felt his face burning from embarrassment. He had a gut feeling that Oikawa and Kuroo were going to make a habit of teaming up to tease him. "Just wait until I have my hands free, I'll punch you both."

"I think your  _ Iwa-chan _ might like it rough, Oikawa," Kuroo said; he turned to look over his shoulder and smirked at the two men behind him. 

"I think I can handle him just fine," Oikawa said as he reached up to grab a handful of Iwaizumi's shirt.

Iwaizumi looked down at Oikawa and smirked. “Don’t be so sure about that. I’m a lot to handle.” 

Kuroo had still been looking over his shoulder, so he caught sight of the steamy look that was shared between the two men. "Me-e-ow, you two! Just say the word and we can lay this stretcher down behind some trees. Don’t worry, I'll keep watch for you." 

“What a generous offer,” Oikawa said playfully as he grinned at Kuroo.

Iwaizumi glanced up at the sky and sighed heavily; he could already tell that the teasing banter was going to last all the way down the mountain. 

  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

They soon came to the bottom of the trail and walked through the parking lot. They headed towards the ranger station on the opposite side. Iwaizumi's face was still dark red, while Kuroo and Oikawa both looked rather amused.

After having been relentlessly teased the whole way down the mountain, Iwaizumi now had half a mind to flip Oikawa off the stretcher as punishment; the man could certainly find his own way to the medical office, and Kuroo would probably help him hobble along. 

But the other half of Iwaizumi’s mind wanted to scoop Oikawa up into his arms and get the man away from Kuroo's bad influence. Kuroo and Oikawa had formed a fast friendship; they seemed to have bonded over the discomfort that they had caused for Iwaizumi. 

Meanwhile, Bokuto and Takeru had long since made it down the mountain. They were currently playing a game of tag across the mostly deserted parking lot. Oikawa's blue SUV was one of only two cars in the guest parking area. The other vehicle was surprisingly nice; it was a black sports car with red stripes down the middle.

In the parking row closest to the ranger station was the designated staff parking. There were four different off road vehicles wrapped in decals that represented the wilderness preservation park; they all had "Park Ranger" written on both sides.

Next to those vehicles was an orange jeep, a maroon colored truck with an eagle charm hanging from the rear view mirror, and a black car with a volleyball sticker on the back window. 

Kuroo playfully called out to Bokuto and Takeru. "Hey kids, watch out for cars in the parking lot!" 

The two of them looked over and saw the rest of their group at the entrance of the station. 

"Race you there!" Takeru yelled, shooting towards the others.

"You're on little dude!" Bokuto called out, starting to run as well. It didn’t take long for him to cross the parking lot. He grinned at Iwaizumi as he reached the group and decided to tease the man. “Yo,  _ Iwa-chan _ . You look like you got too much sun. You're all red.”

Takeru came up right after and pointed at Iwaizumi. "He’s like a tomato!" 

Kuroo snickered while Oikawa stuck his tongue out playfully at Iwaizumi, who was glaring down at him.

"Dumbass," Iwaizumi whispered at Oikawa. He then turned his glare to Kuroo, who was smirking at him.

"You love me way too much to stay mad at me," Kuroo said through his smirk as they reached the front doors of the ranger station. He turned his head towards Bokuto. "Hey, get the door. We have to get these two future lovebirds out of the sun before _ Iwa-chan _ boils over."

Bokuto jumped forward and pulled the door, holding it open as his friends carried Oikawa inside. He dramatically fanned his arm at Iwaizumi as the man passed by him, which earned him a kick in the shin. 

Then they all stepped into the hallway. As the entrance door closed behind them, the office door opened. 

Daichi came out of his office, followed by two other men. One of the men had a short shock of bright orange hair, and the other man had dyed blonde hair pulled into a messy bun with black roots showing on top. 

The orange haired man bounced out from behind Daichi and practically yelled. "It's so great to finally meet you all! I'm Hinata Shouyou, Kageyama's boyfriend! I work at The Cozy Cat, and Yamaguchi says you guys eat there a lot!"

At the end of the rushed greeting, Hinata bowed to them all. Then he sprang back up as if he remembered something. "Oh, and this is Kenma! I was telling him about Kageyama's work, and about how the wilderness preserve relies mainly on private donations to run, and he wanted to be a part of it! Isn't he so cool!"

Everyone was stunned into silence by the sudden downpour of information.

Kenma observed the group of people briefly from behind the bits of his long bangs that had fallen out of his bun; his eyes lingering on Kuroo for an extra moment, then he returned his focus to an email he was writing on his phone.

Daichi recovered from Hinata’s word avalanche first, and cleared his throat before he spoke. "As Hinata said, this is Kenma. He wants to become a financial donor. And this is our injured hiker, I take it," he said, nodding towards Oikawa. “I’m Sawamura Daichi, the Chief Ranger here.” 

"Pleased to meet you. I've met Chibi-chan before, my manager often caters lunch from The Cozy Cat. And I've met Kenma before as well, briefly. He’s an investor at my work. Sorry to see you all under these circumstances, but I'm afraid I'm a little incapacitated. Iwa-chan is taking such good care of me though," he said as he looked up to wink at Iwaizumi. 

Daichi looked surprised at the familiar way Oikawa had spoken to Iwaizumi; he raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two men.

Kuroo was being uncharacteristically quiet as he looked at Kenma. When Kenma glanced up at him again and briefly met his eyes, they stared at each other. A fond smile spread across Kuroo's lips. He then winked at Kenma, making the man blush and fix his eyes back down at his phone.

"Oikawa, I didn't expect to see you here!" Hinata exclaimed happily. He turned to look at Daichi and Kenma as he spoke. "I’m the one who delivers lunch to Shimizu Publishing most days. Oikawa and Akaashi always order the same thing. But Suga orders something new almost every day! Yamaguchi makes it a game to tweak things on the menu so that there are new things to choose from."

Bokuto froze when he heard Akaashi's name, then glanced around as if the man might pop out unexpectedly. 

Meanwhile, Daichi was blushing at the mention of Suga. 

"This is kind of like a little reunion, huh," Kuroo said when he was finally able to break his attention away from Kenma.

Takeru was still beside Bokuto; he seemed to be worn out from the excitement of the day. "I'm hungry," he said, pulling on Bokuto's arm.

Bokuto looked down at the boy and smiled. "No worries, little dude! I'll take you to the cafeteria. I think my bestie made apple pie this morning!"

Kenma perked up unintentionally at the mention of apple pie; the movement did not escape Kuroo's attention.

"Daichi, take over carrying this side of the stretcher, will you? Let me take our guests over to the cafeteria for some lunch and apple pie. We have to take good care of our new financial donor, after all," Kuroo said smoothly as he winked at Kenma.

Kenma met Kuroo's eyes boldly; a small grin spread over his lips.

"That would be great, thanks!" Hinata said cheerfully.

Bokuto started towards the cafeteria with Takeru in tow, turning to Hinata and Kenma as he passed them. "Come on, it's this way."

Hinata bounced along behind Bokuto. Kenma turned to follow, but then looked back to Kuroo; he blushed when he saw that Kuroo was still staring at him.

"Come on over, Daichi. Grab this end and I'll go take care of them," Kuroo said with an impish grin.

"Here, I've got it," Daichi said, taking hold of the end of the stretcher in Kuroo's place. 

"Take care of these two guys for me," Kuroo said with a wink. Then he turned and jogged to catch up with the others, slowing down once he was next to Kenma.

Oikawa put his arm over his face and sighed. "It's so lovely that our friends are enjoying themselves. And I would’ve thought that being carried around by two strong men would also be a good time. But between us three, I'm a bit lacking in fun right now. I’m at my capacity for pain, heat and nature." 

Daichi cleared his throat as he started leading the way to Ushijima while carrying the stretcher. "My apologies, we’ve made you wait far too long for medical attention." 

Iwaizumi let out a huff and started grumbling. "It would’ve gone a lot faster if they weren't having fun at my expense. Kuroo was laughing so hard that he almost dropped his end of the stretcher several times. And I almost dropped my end a few times too, though it wouldn’t have been an accident.”

Daichi was about to reprimand Iwaizumi for speaking rudely to a guest, but Oikawa spoke first. "That would’ve been so mean! People might think you don't like me if you say stuff like that." 

Iwaizumi looked down at Oikawa with a teasing smile and a light blush. "I don’t even like you, dumbass."

"Iwaizumi!" Daichi said in a shocked tone. He had never seen Iwaizumi be rude to a guest of the park.

"Denying it while blushing like that makes it even  _ more _ obvious that you like me, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said smoothly as he stared up at Iwaizumi from the crook of his arm.

"Uhm... _ 'Iwa-chan' _ ?" Daichi asked as he took in the exchange between the two men. He raised an eyebrow in both confusion and amusement. 

Before Iwaizumi could say anything, the door to the medical room was pulled open. "Is this our injured hiker? He seems to be in pretty good shape," Ushijima remarked while giving Oikawa an intense stare. 

"I'm not riding around like this for the hell of it," Oikawa said irritably; he looked Ushijima up and down while frowning. 

Ushijima ignored Oikawa, turning instead to Iwaizumi. "I am glad he is conscious, and I do not see any blood. Please bring him inside and help him onto the exam table. I would like to hear how he was injured while I examine him."

Oikawa pouted at being ignored. 

"I would like to hear what happened as well, Iwaizumi. And I’ll want a full report before the end of the day," said Daichi, as he and Iwaizumi brought the stretcher into the room. They carefully set both Oikawa and the stretcher on the exam table.

"Can you stand on one leg so we can slide the stretcher out from under you?" Iwaizumi asked. 

Oikawa sat up carefully and held his arms out towards Iwaizumi with an affectionate smile. "Only if you’ll hold me steady."

Iwaizumi blushed slightly under the questioning stare of Daichi and the curious look from Ushijima, but he said nothing as moved in front of Oikawa to help the man stand. 

Oikawa came up to stand on his good leg. He let out a quiet hiss through clenched teeth as he moved his injured leg, trying not to put any weight on it. He then leaned forward against Iwaizumi's chest and put his head on the man’s shoulder. “Don’t let me fall,” he whispered.

“I’ve got you,” Iwaizumi replied quietly as he wrapped his arms around Oikawa’s waist.

Ushijima moved the stretcher away, but the two men continued to embrace.

After what may have been a full thirty seconds, Daichi cleared his throat. "I think he needs to be sitting down if Ushijima is going to take a look at him."

Iwaizumi felt heat rise in his cheeks as he untangled Oikawa's arms from himself and helped lower the man back down to sit on the edge of the exam table. Then he glanced at Ushijima. "This is Oikawa Tooru. His knee is in a lot of pain right now. He had a brace on and seemed slightly uncomfortable when I first came across him. But when his nephew fell over the railing, we both jumped forward to help and I think the sudden movement made his knee worse."

"I will have to unwrap it to look," said Ushijima. He moved his hands to unroll the wrap around the injured knee.

Oikawa frowned at the contact due to the pain. He reached for Iwaizumi's forearm and pulled the man closer. He then leaned his face against Iwaizumi's chest and gripped the man’s shirt tightly as the pain from his injured knee flared. 

"His nephew fell over the railing?" Daichi asked, looking pale at the thought of it. If he found the closeness between Oikawa and Iwaizumi to be strange, he had decided not to show it. 

Iwaizumi tried to ignore the urge to pull Oikawa closer against himself and comfort the man; he was already feeling extremely embarrassed at the contact they were already having, though he kind of liked it as well. "Fell with it, more accurately. He was leaning against the bars, admiring the view, when a panel came loose. He lurched forward with it and flipped over the edge, but got a hold of one of the bars. I got right over to him and pulled him up. He was rattled, but didn't seem physically harmed." 

"I think I'll have the whole crew do a guard rail check along the main trail tomorrow. We can't have something like that happen again," Daichi said with a calm resolve. He then looked at Oikawa, whose face was still pressed against Iwaizumi. "I’m so extremely sorry that you and your nephew went through that. And I'm very sorry that your knee was injured as a result."

Oikawa turned his head and peeked at Daichi with one eye, but didn’t answer. He was in a lot of pain from Ushijima prodding at his injured knee.

"How does it look," Iwaizumi asked as he glanced at Oikawa’s leg.

Ushijima hummed calmly. "It is very swollen. I would expect there is a small tear. This was an old injury, correct?"

Oikawa nodded his head against Iwaizumi’s chest.

"If you already have a physical therapist, you should follow up with them as soon as you can. For now, you need to stay off of your injured leg. It needs to be iced for a time and then wrapped again. I will go retrieve ice from the cafeteria,” said Ushijima. He promptly got up and walked out of the room. 

"We’d be glad to pay for your physical therapy, Oikawa-san. To try and help make things up to you," Daichi offered. 

Oikawa lifted his face from Iwaizumi's chest. "That won't be necessary. There’s only one thing that could make up for today," he said as he looked at Daichi with a mischievous grin.

"If it’s within my power, I'd be glad to do it. What is it that would help?" Daichi asked, slightly on edge from the vast range of things Oikawa might ask for as compensation. 

Oikawa had turned to look at Iwaizumi’s face; the man was meeting his gaze with a raised eyebrow. "Iwa-chan owes me an ice cream date."

"What?" Daichi and Iwaizumi had spoken at the same time; Daichi was completely surprised and Iwaizumi was irritatingly embarrassed.

"That's what I want," Oikawa said brightly as he winked at Iwaizumi. 

"I don't know if I can... I don’t have the authority to order Iwaizumi to go on a date with you," Daichi said, looking flustered. "Maybe you'd like a weekend in one of our cabins instead, free of charge?"

"Oh, that actually reminds me that I'd also like Iwa-chan to give me a night tour. He mentioned that to me earlier. I love the stars at night from the mountains, so it sounds like a great time. But make it a private tour, please," Oikawa said as he struggled to maintain his composure through the pain in his knee. But he was a strong willed person; he planned on getting what, or rather who, he wanted.

"Iwaizumi, if you’re uncomfortable giving him a private tour, we can discuss it further. But a night tour is definitely something I can agree to for compensation. Like I had said though, a date is not something I can arrange. It wouldn't look good in the paperwork, you see, and Iwaizumi is in charge of his own personal life," said Daich, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. 

Iwaizumi had been taking in everything Oikawa said. At first he thought it was a joke, but it was now clear that the man was serious. The thought of a date and a private night tour with Oikawa sounded like something he might actually want to do. "Fine then," he said gruffly. 

"Iwaizumi?" Daichi looked at his coworker with uncertainty.

"I'll do a night tour with him as official compensation for today's incident. And we can have the date as his unofficial compensation,” Iwaizumi said with a blush.

Oikawa smiled gleefully and leaned his head back against Iwaizumi's chest; he’d won his prize. "I knew you would want to, Iwa-chan." 

"Shut up, Trashykawa."

Daichi cleared his throat; he no longer knew what to think of the two men and how they interacted. “Alright, then… if you’re both happy with those terms.”

Ushijima returned with a bag of ice just then. "Oikawa-san, your nephew is wondering where you are. Perhaps the cafeteria would be acceptable to you as a place to rest and ice your knee."

"This is the perfect time for that piggyback ride we talked about earlier," Oikawa said playfully as he nuzzled his face against Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi sighed heavily. Then he turned around to back up against Oikawa, careful of the man’s knee, and squatted down. "Get on then, dumbass."

Everyone in the room was surprised at Iwaizumi’s willingness, including Iwaizumi himself. Never in his life would he have imagined giving someone a piggyback ride while at work. Oikawa was making him want to do irrational things, and it made him both intrigued and flustered. But he found that most of all, he was feeling happy about having more contact with the man.

Once Oikawa’s arms were wrapped around his shoulders, he carefully grabbed the man’s legs and lifted him up. Oikawa let out a small groan as his injured knee settled against Iwaizumi.

"You okay?" Iwaizumi asked as he tried to ignore the way Daichi was looking at him; it was a combination of shock and amusement.

"I'm fine. This is perfect," Oikawa said happily. Then he turned his face towards Ushijima and held out a hand. "I'll take the ice, thanks." Once Ushijima had handed over the ice, Oikawa pressed his chin against Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “Onward, Iwa-chan!”

"Don't make me drop you," Iwaizumi replied shortly. He felt himself blush for what must have been the hundredth time that day as he walked down the hall to the cafeteria.

"You wouldn't do that," Oikawa said confidently as he nuzzled his face into the back of Iwaizumi's neck. 

They soon reached the cafeteria; loud laughter was coming from inside. Iwaizumi managed to crouch down and pull the door open with one hand while keeping his wrist pressed against the side of Oikawa's thigh. He caught his foot on the edge of the door and kicked it open, then stepped inside. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These guys might be a bad influence on Take-chan, and Iwaizumi doesn't like it. Cafeteria shenanigans and more bad jokes

Bokuto, Nishinoya, Tanaka and Takeru were standing in a circle beside a long table. Each of them had a juice box in one hand and a bendy straw in the other. There was a whole pile of empty juice boxes on the table; it looked like they’d already gone through over one dozen. There was also an empty pie dish and several used plates across the table.

"I'm going to win this time for sure!" Bokuto yelled. 

Nishinoya laughed as he turned to Bokuto and nudged the man with his elbow. "I've won every round so far. I think you’d better accept that I suck harder than you!"

"Wouldn't it be sucks faster?" Tanaka asked, scratching his head with the corner of his bendy straw. 

"I’d say that hard is better than fast. What do you think?" Kuroo said with a chuckle as he turned to Kenma, who was sitting at his side.

Kenma glanced at Kuroo and rolled his eyes. “Do you want me to see how hard I can punch you?”

“I mean… yeah, kind of,” replied Kuroo as he gave a crooked smirk. He was enjoying how feisty the blonde haired man could be. 

Hinata was sitting on Kenma's other side. "Kageyama would probably say fast is better," he said while grinning cheekily. 

Kuroo leaned over in front of Kenma to talk to Hinata. "Do tell us what Kageyama likes and doesn't like. It’s important bonding information that us, as his coworkers, desperately need."

Kenma let out a small scoff at Kuroo's comment as the man leaned back out of his personal space.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi had not been noticed by the group yet, and Iwaizumi didn’t like what he was hearing. "What type of things are you subjecting Oikawa's nephew to hearing.” 

Bokuto, Nishinoya, and Tanaka, who had just put their straws into their juice boxes, startled at the sound of Iwaizumi’s scolding voice. Bokuto accidentally squeezed his box, which resulted in him squirting juice all over himself.

"You made me all wet and sticky,” Bokuto complained. 

Kuroo grinned playfully. "That's what he sa.."

"Kuroo!" Iwaizumi cut the man off from making an inappropriate joke in front of Takeru, who was standing by innocently with a grin as he started drinking his juice box.

" _ That's what he gets for squeezing his juice box, _ is what I was going to say. Do you have so little faith in me?" Kuroo said with feigned innocence. “He needs a shower anyway. He’s all muddy from carrying Takeru around.”

Bokuto pouted and grumbled something about going to shower as he left the cafeteria. 

"I've known you for less than a few hours, and even I know that's not what you were going to say," Oikawa said teasingly from Iwaizumi's back. 

Takeru ran up to his uncle and grinned widely. "We had a juice drinking contest! I didn't win any, but I bet if I practiced more I could win someday!" 

"Did you eat actual food, or did you fill up on juice, Take-chan?" Oikawa asked while smiling affectionately at his nephew.

"Kuroo-san made me the best sandwich ever! He put chips inside it to make it crunchy!" Takeru said cheerfully as he gave Kuroo a big thumbs up.

Kuroo looked over at Takeru and gave the boy a wink and a thumbs up. “I do know my way around sandwich making.”

All of a sudden, Tanaka and Nishinoya seemed to notice Oikawa and Iwaizumi's back. They both started moving at exactly the same time and walked over to stand right in front of Iwaizumi. 

"What do we have here?" Tanaka said with a smirk as he looked Oikawa up and down. 

"Who do we have here, more like," said Nishinoya while mirroring Tanaka's actions.

"Iwa-chan, set me down please. I want to ice my knee," said Oikawa. He completely ignored the dramatics of the two men.

" _ Iwa-chan _ ?" Nishinoya and Tanaka spoke together while they both pointed to Iwaizumi. 

"Move it!" Iwaizumi said to the two men in an irritable voice. He walked past them and set Oikawa down on a chair, on the opposite side of the table from Kuroo and the others.Then he pulled up another chair and helped Oikawa get his right leg onto it. 

Oikawa carefully set the bag of ice on his knee, then pulled a chair around from behind him and put it right next to his own chair. He patted the empty seat while looking up at Iwaizumi expectantly with a wink and a grin.

"So is this the damsel in distress from all the radio chatter today?" Nishinoya asked as he came closer and looked at Oikawa with a curious expression. 

Tanaka came over as well and began heavily smacking Iwaizumi’s shoulder. "Look at you, taking such tender care of someone! I’m impressed!”

"Get off me," Iwaizumi huffed as he pushed Tanaka away. After that, he looked down at Oikawa and flicked the man’s forehead lightly as he spoke. "I'm going to grab us some food,” he said. He went over to the large refrigerator that had a big island counter across from it, then started putting ingredients on the counter. 

Kuroo leaned across the table and grinned at Oikawa. "You really tamed that dragon, princess. I've never seen him willingly make physical contact with someone for that long, or offer to make someone else food."

Oikawa grinned at Kuroo slyly as he rubbed at his forehead where Iwaizumi had flicked him. "I've also gotten him to agree to a date."

"So you are, in fact, dating now?!" Tanaka looked thrilled at that.

Nishinoya jumped in the air and whooped. "Wait until I tell Asahi! Let's do double dates!" 

"Triple dates!" Tanaka said. "Let's make our weekly double date night into a triple date night. Kiyoko won’t mind!"

"So you’re my boss’s husband," Oikawa said as he looked at Tanaka. "I recently started working as an advertising manager at Shimizu Publishing." 

"What, no way?! What a coincidence!" Tanaka remarked with a grin. 

Nishinoya pulled up a chair and sat in front of Oikawa. “My boyfriend has mentioned you before, actually! He said you’re really pretty but also very intimidating, which I totally agree with.”

“How sweet of him,” Oikawa said happily. Then a thought struck him. "You park rangers all played volleyball in high school, right? Let me guess what position you played."

"Kenma and I played volleyball in highschool too," Hinata chirped from across the table. “Guess what positions we played!”

Oikawa nodded at Hinata and then hummed while he looked around the room. He glanced at everyone for a long moment in turn, then started his guessing while pointing at Tanaka. "You were a wing spiker." 

"Did Kiyoko tell you?!" Tanaka asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"I guarantee that this is the first time I've learned that you all played volleyball. You're a libero, by the way," Oikawa said as he nodded towards Nishinoya.

"You got it!" Nishinoya said while proudly sticking out his chest and giving a thumbs up.

Oikawa looked at Kenma with his sharp gaze, and was met with eyes so calculating that they rivaled his own. "Quiet-kun played setter," he said confidently.

Kenma nodded once to confirm. 

Finally, Oikawa looked over at Hinata. The orange haired man stared back at him with eyes that were bright and mischievous, matching his grin. Oikawa took a few moments as he looked at Hinata while thinking quietly.

Kenma was also paying close attention to the two men and waiting for the answer. He knew that no one had ever guessed Hinata's volleyball position correctly before, so he’d be impressed if Oikawa were to guess it.

Oikawa finally spoke. "Middle blocker."

"No way, he couldn’t have been a middle blocker," said Kuroo. He sounded amused at the very thought of it. 

Tanaka and Nishinoya both laughed in disbelief, but Kenma and Hinata were both silent. Kenma was shocked; so shocked that he died on the game level he had been working on the past hour, on his phone. He frowned and restarted.

Hinata looked just as surprised, but also extremely happy. "How did you know!?"

A voice from the cafeteria door startled everyone. It was Kageyama and he was looking at Oikawa intensely. "No one’s ever guessed his position like that." 

"Tobio!" Hinata flew out of his seat in an instant and ran over to his boyfriend. His speed surprised everyone except Kenma and Kageyama. When he jumped towards his boyfriend, everyone's mouth fell open; he could jump really high.

"Don't jump on me!" Kageyama grumbled after he caught his boyfriend. He pulled Hinata into a quick hug before trying, and failing, to push the man out of his arms. "Why are you here?!" 

"Don't sound so unhappy about it! Kenma had an appointment here and I haven't seen your work or met your friends yet, so I came along!" Hinata said. He hugged his boyfriend tighter and nuzzled into the man’s chest.

"Wh… whatever. It's good to see you, I guess," Kageyama stammered; a blush was rising on his cheeks. 

"What a sweet reunion. Gross," Tsukishima said as he walked into the cafeteria. He took one look at the group of people gathered around, then chose to ignore them all in favor of going to make himself a late lunch.

"Did you guys get the railing secure?" Iwaizumi asked as he walked over to Oikawa and set a plate down next to the man on the table. He then sat in the seat next to Oikawa, put his plate on his lap, and bit into his sandwich. 

"We wouldn't have come back yet if we hadn't," Tsukishima replied dryly. 

"Don't be mean to  _ Iwa-chan _ ," Kuroo teased. “He got slayed by a princess today, you know.”

The mention of Iwaizumi's new nickname reminded Tsukishima of something. He turned and looked to where Oikawa and Iwaizumi were sitting close to each other. "Interesting," he said, as if it was actually the least interesting thing ever. He rolled his eyes as he returned his focus to making himself some food.

"I made you a sandwich, Tobio," Hinata said as he pulled Kageyama to the table and sat the man down near Kenma. Then he ran to the kitchen and pulled a sandwich out of the refrigerator. 

Bokuto returned just then and was freshly showered. Daichi and Ushijima came in with him, and Oikawa looked over at them.

"Wing spiker, and wing spiker," he said, pointing first to Daichi and then to Ushijima. 

"That's.. right. How did you know?" Dachi asked with a surprised grin. 

"He has a freak ability to figure out someone’s volleyball position. He already guessed all of ours correctly," Kuroo answered, sounding proud as if it was his own accomplishment. 

Oikawa grinned and pointed to Kuroo. “I’d also say, captain.” 

Then he gestured to Daichi. "Captain.” 

He nodded at Bokuto. “Captain.” 

Finally, he waved a hand at Ushijima. “Captain.”

"How did you do that?!" Bokuto asked with wide eyes. 

"Takes a captain to know a captain," Oikawa said with a wink. 

"You played setter," Kenma said quietly but confidently. It wasn't a question. 

Oikawa met the man’s gaze and gave a charming smile. "You guessed it.”

"Hey, where’s Takeru?" Bokuto asked as he looked around. 

At that moment, everyone else looked around as well. The boy was nowhere to be seen and hadn’t been heard from in a while. A feeling of panic settled over almost everyone. 

"We lost him!" Nishinoya yelled frantically. 

"Get a search party together!" Tanaka shouted as he rubbed his hands over his head.

Bokuto started pacing around, trying to decide where to look first. 

Oikawa cleared his throat and spoke calmly. "It won't take a search party to check the bathroom. You gave him a bunch of juice boxes, remember? It doesn't take a detective to guess that he’d need the toilet after that," he said as he glanced at Iwaizumi. "Iwa-chan, be a dear and check the bathroom." 

Iwaizumi, who had just finished his sandwich, nodded and set his plate on the table. He moved Oikawa's hand from where it had been on his knee and squeezed it before letting go. Then he got up and walked towards the large bathroom which was in the back corner of the cafeteria. 

When the bathroom door closed behind Iwaizumi, Daichi spoke up. "Wow. I’ve never seen Iwaizumi respond so well to a request for a favor. What did you do to him?"

Oikawa smiled and rested his elbow on the table, then set his chin on his fist. "I don't think it's what I've done already, it's what he knows I’ll do in the future," he said with a wink. 

"This guy tamed our wild Iwa-chan," said Kuroo with an amused grin. He bowed at Oikawa playfully and then started a slow clap. Bokuto whistled and then started clapping as well. Nishinoya and Tanaka let out cheers and started enthusiastically clapping, then came over to Oikawa and fell to the ground in front of him, raising and lowering their arms in reverence.

Hinata got caught up in the excitement and was standing on his chair as he clapped along with the others. Kageyama was pulling at him and practically hissing. "Idiot, get down from there. You're gonna hurt yourself!"

Tsukishima was sitting as far away from everyone as he could, pretending he didn't hear them. Daichi and Ushijima had moved into the kitchen; they were watching the scene unfold while leaning over the counter and eating some food. 

When Iwaizumi and Takeru came out of the bathroom just then, and were surprised by the uproar. Iwaizumi's eye twitched irritably as he folded his arms and tried to decide who to lay into first; he had a gut feeling that this nonsense was Kuroo’s doing.

"Why’s everyone cheering?" Takeru asked curiously. 

"I'm afraid to ask, honestly," Iwaizumi replied dryly.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out from Tanaka's phone. He sprang up from the floor and pulled it out of his pocket. "Oh shit, it's already 4 o'clock! We need to get going, Noya. It’s double date night!"

Nishinoya jumped up and waved at Oikawa. "It was great meeting you, Oikawa-san. Next time, you and Iwaizumi can join us and make it a triple date!"

"I'm coming, Kiyoko!" Tanaka cried out as he ran out of the cafeteria. Nishinoya followed right behind him. 

Kenma turned to Hinata and spoke quietly. "We need to get back to the restaurant and help Yamaguchi get things set up for the dinner rush."

Hinata bounced off his chair. "Right! We ended up staying a lot longer than we meant to, but I'm glad! This was so fun!" He smiled at everyone before leaning down to kiss Kageyama goodbye, which made the dark haired man blush deeply.

Kuroo leaned close to Kenma’s ear so he could whisper to the man. "I’m looking forward to our date." 

Kenma blushed slightly as he stood up. “I’ll text you,” he said to Kuroo. Then he and Hinata left the cafeteria together. 

The room was suddenly a lot calmer.

"I can finally hear myself think," Tsukishima deadpanned. "Kageyama, we need to go write up a maintenance report."

"Can you also write up a plan for testing the railing all along the main trail, and a schedule for intermittent rechecks?" Daichi asked. 

"Yeah, sounds fun," said Tsukishima. But his voice sounded as though someone had just told him that he had to spend the rest of the day staring at a wall. He got up and rinsed his plate in the sink before walking out of the cafeteria. Kageyama did the same and followed him out. 

"The rest of you have things you could be doing, I'm sure. You're not getting paid to hang out here," Daichi said as he nodded at Kuroo and Bokuto. 

Kuroo stood and stretched his arms up while yawning. "I'm thinking it's a good time for a little nap, personally."

"A nap sounds great, I'm more tired today than usual," Bokuto said as he glanced at Takeru, who had moved to sit in a chair right beside Oikawa. He smiled at the boy and walked over, then offered a high five. "It was fun playing with you today, little dude!"

Takeru smacked Bokuto’s hand and smiled. “Can I come play here again?” He asked as he glanced at Oikawa, then leaned his head on his uncle's arm; the day had finally worn him out.

“I’m sure we can arrange for that next time you come to spend a weekend with me,” Oikawa replied with a grin. He leaned an arm on Iwaizumi, who was sitting at his other side, then moved his good leg onto the man’s lap. Iwaizumi absentmindedly rested a hand on Oikawa’s thigh. 

Kuroo winked at Iwaizumi and then nodded towards Oikawa. "I'm sure I'll see more of you now, princess. Take good care of our dragon!" He made kissy lips at the pair, and laughed when Iwaizumi flipped him off in such a way that Takeru couldn’t see. 

Bokuto exaggerated a wink at Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Then he and Kuroo walked out of the cafeteria together while laughing at some whispered innuendos.

Ushijima looked at Oikawa. "Your leg has surely had enough ice now. Would you like me to wrap your injured knee?"

Oikawa glanced at Ushijima dismissively. "I'm sure Iwa-chan can do it for me, so no need for you to bother. Thanks, anyway."

Ushijima spoke again. "In that case, I will take my leave. I need to order supplies." He stood up, bowed stiffly and then left the room. 

Daichi cleared his throat and looked at Iwaizumi. "Please make sure to do a full report on today's incident. I'd like it by the end of the day. Takeda-san is expecting it,” he said as he went to leave the room.

Oikawa sighed and glanced at Iwaizumi. "I'd love to hang around longer, but my sister is supposed to pick up Takeru in a couple hours. And we’re an hour from my apartment."

"I'll get your knee bandaged up so you can get going," Iwaizumi said as moved Oikawa's leg off his lap. Then he walked over to where Ushijima had left the first aid kit and brought it back over to the table. He knelt in front of Oikawa and carefully started wrapping the man’s knee. 

A small whimper came from Oikawa occasionally as Iwaizumi wrapped his knee; his eyes were closed and jaw was clenched. Meanwhile, Takeru had fallen asleep against his arm.

"That should do it," said Iwaizumi after finishing the bandaging. One of his hands lingered just above Oikawa's wrapped knee. "Wait… are you going to be able to drive like this?"

Oikawa frowned and glanced at his knee. "I guess I hadn't considered that. I don't think I can drive that well without using my right leg." 

"I guess I'll drive you then," Iwaizumi said casually as he stood up. 

"What did you say?" Oikawa blinked at the man in disbelief. 

"I said I'll drive you," Iwaizumi said while flicking Oikawa's forehead lightly. “Get your hearing checked, dumbass.”

Oikawa caught Iwaizumi’s hand after the man had flicked him and held onto it playfully. "If we were to take my car, how would you get back here?" 

Iwaizumi scratched the back of his neck with his free hand and hummed thoughtfully. "Well… I could probably stay at Kageyama’s place tonight and catch a ride back here with him in the morning."

Oikawa gave a smug grin. "If you're going to do such a big favor by driving me home, the least I can do is let you stay at my place tonight. I live alone, so you wouldn't be bothering anyone. And I might need more piggyback rides to get around my apartment."

"I'm not giving you more piggyback rides, Shittykawa," Iwaizumi said while blushing slightly. "If that's our plan, then give me about thirty minutes to write up a report before we leave. Do you want to wait in my room? Takeru could nap on my bed." 

"That's a good idea, my arm’s falling asleep from him leaning on it. Although, Take-chan is caked in mud," Oikawa said, looking down at his very muddy nephew. 

"That's fine, I can just wash my bedding tomorrow. I'll take him first and then I'll come back to help you," Iwaizumi said as he bent down to pick Takeru up.

Oikawa smiled softly as he watched Iwaizumi carry Takeru out of the cafeteria. It didn’t take long for the man to come back for him; he ended up getting another piggyback ride after all.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added this chapter when I was fixing the typos in this fic. It was something I left out the first time around.

Iwaizumi had finished his report in just over a half hour. Takeru had been woken up from his brief nap and the boy was full of energy once again as he bounced alongside Iwaizumi and Oikawa in the parking lot of the ranger station.

Oikawa was enjoying his third piggyback ride of the day from Iwaizumi; he had convinced the man to carry him to the car with relative ease. He was holding his backpack in front of Iwaizumi at a somewhat awkward angle; it had been too heavy for Takeru to carry.

“We’re getting ice cream, right?” Takeru asked cheerfully.

Oikawa hummed playfully. “I’m sure we can manage that. If Iwa-chan is willing to make a stop, that is.”

“I don’t mind stopping for ice cream. I agreed to that earlier, remember?” Iwaizumi said in a gruff voice.

“That’s right, you did! And you promised me a private night tour. When will I get that, by the way?” Oikawa asked as he squeezed Iwaizumi’s shoulders between his arms. 

Iwaizumi stopped at the only car in the guest parking lot, which belonged to Oikawa. “When your knee is better. It’s a bit of a walk and I’m not carrying you the whole way.”

Oikawa smirked as he reached out to set his backpack on the hood of his car. “You also said you wouldn’t give me a piggyback ride, yet here we are.”

Iwaizumi let go of Oikawa’s legs and pushed them slightly, forcing the man to slide down off his back. “You’re right, I did say that. So get off.”

Oikawa managed to get down and stand on one leg, steadying himself by holding onto Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “You don’t have to be cranky about it. I’m grateful for your help, you know,” he said sincerely. With that, he took a couple hops over to his backpack and dug his keys out, then unlocked his blue SUV with the remote.

Takeru immediately jumped into the back row of the car and made himself comfy. He grabbed his tablet, which was sitting on one of the seats, and started playing on it. 

Oikawa went to grab his backpack so he could put it in the car, but Iwaizumi beat him to it; the man took the pack and put it in the cargo area, then walked back over to where Oikawa was standing. 

Finally, Iwaizumi held a hand towards Oikawa. “Do you need me to help you into the car?”

With a grin, Oikawa took Iwaizumi’s hand. He felt sure he could have managed getting into the car by himself, but he was really enjoying being doted on. “You’re very attentive, Iwa-chan. Especially for someone who claimed that he didn’t like me earlier.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes as he helped Oikawa into the car. “I don’t…  _ not _ like you.”

“So you admit that you _ do _ like me?” Oikawa asked as he carefully got into the passenger seat of the car and stretched his injured leg out in front of himself. 

Iwaizumi let out a little sigh of defeat. “I mean… I wouldn’t have offered to drive you home if I didn’t.”

“I think it’s very cute how you don’t seem to be able to just say that you like me,” Oikawa teased. “ _ I like you _ , and I’m not afraid to say so.”

Iwaizumi blushed lightly as he stood outside the open passenger door. He glanced away and mumbled a response. “I’m not afraid to say that I like you.”

“What was that, Iwa-chan? I didn’t catch it,” said Oikawa. Even though he had actually heard it, and just wanted to hear it again. 

“I said I like you,” Iwaizumi said right before he closed the passenger door and walked around the car. He slid into the driver seat and glanced at Oikawa, then held out a hand. “I need the keys.”

Oikawa held the keys out towards Iwaizumi. But when the man tried to take them, he pulled them back and put something imaginary into Iwaizumi’s hand instead. “That’s the key to my heart, so be careful with it.”

Iwaizumi blinked a few times before he glanced back at Takeru, who was immersed in his game. Then he sighed and put the imaginary key into his pocket before holding his hand back out for the car keys. “Are you always this embarrassing?”

“As often as I can be,” Oikawa replied with a giggle as he put the car keys into Iwaizumi’s hand.

“I’m wondering what I got myself into now,” Iwaizumi said in a wry tone as he turned on the car and drove out of the parking lot. The road leading away from the ranger station was a bumpy one, and the car rocked around roughly as it went along. To try to make the ride softer for Oikawa, Iwaizumi went very slow. 

But even at a slower pace, Oikawa ended up grimacing in pain until they finally made it to the smooth stretch of highway that led to the town in which he lived. 

“Where do you want to stop for ice cream?” Iwaizumi asked as he glanced at the man beside him. 

Oikawa checked the time and hummed. “My sister is going to beat us to my apartment at this rate. Which is fine, but I think we’d better stick with a drive through since it’ll be faster.”

“Yay, ice cream!” Takeru said from the back seat. He had been totally lost in playing on his tablet and had been quiet for the drive up until just then.

“We’ve got another ten minutes until we make it to town, Take-chan,” Oikawa said over his shoulder. He then grinned at his nephew, who had already gone back to playing on the tablet. He was glad that he’d managed to get the boy outdoors for most of the day; his sister would be pleased. 

Of course, she was going to lose her mind when she learned that Takeru had almost fallen off a cliff. But Oikawa didn’t want to worry about that yet. He didn’t plan on telling her about it in person. He intended to call her later that night and mention it over the phone so he could hang up if she started screaming. It wasn’t a cowardly way out, in his opinion; he just didn’t want to be scolded in front of Iwaizumi.

Once they’d made it to town, they went through a drive through and got ice cream cones. Takeru was making a huge mess with his, which made Oikawa internally cringe. But the boy had already gotten mud and dirt all over his car; it would need a detailed cleaning anyway. 

Iwaizumi and Oikawa ate their ice cream over the short drive back to Oikawa’s apartment. 

Oikawa gave the man directions and soon they were parked outside the large apartment complex. He glanced back at his nephew, who was now both muddy and ice cream covered, and let out a small sigh. “I think you’re mom’s going to want to give you a bath at my place before you two leave, Take-chan. You’re a proper mess.”

Takeru grinned happily at his uncle. “Messes mean you had fun! That’s what my dad says.”

“Those are some wise words,” Iwaizumi said as he opened his door and stepped out. He stopped at the back of the car and put Oikawa’s backpack on, then went to the passenger door to help the man out of the front seat. 

Oikawa pouted at Iwaizumi. “You put the backpack in my spot, you know.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I’ve carried you around enough for one day,” he said as he offered a hand. 

Oikawa took Iwaizumi’s hand with a resigned sigh. Then he grimaced as he swung his injured leg out of the car. “Let’s go, Take-chan,” he said as he carefully stood on one foot and then wrapped an arm over Iwaizumi’s shoulders. 

Takeru quickly got out of the car and bolted towards the building. 

“Don’t run in the parking lot,” Oikawa called out as he leaned his weight on Iwaizumi and started to hop along with the assistance of the man’s arm around his waist. 

Iwaizumi did his best to help support Oikawa’s weight and make walking easier for the man. “You seem like a good uncle. Your nephew adores you.”

Oikawa grinned even as he groaned in pain. “I think I do a pretty good job of playing the fun uncle. It’s not hard taking care of a kid as long as you get to give them back after a day or two.”

Iwaizumi chuckled. “That’s true. Does that mean you don’t want kids?”

“Wow, such personal questions! You’re taking our relationship kind of fast, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa teased. 

Iwaizumi scoffed. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, dumbass. I’m not trying to pry.”

“We really need to work on the pet names you call me. I’m more partial to sweetheart or darling, rather than dumbass. And to answer your question, I’m not sure if I want kids of my own. But I like kids well enough to want to spend plenty of time with my nephew,” Oikawa replied. “What about you, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi shrugged and gave a mischievous grin. “I like kids and I’d be fine with having one. But I’m not set on it one way or another, _ sweetheart _ .”

Oikawa blushed deeply; he hadn’t expected Iwaizumi to actually use one of his suggested pet names. He tried to stammer out a response, but he heard his sister call out to him from a short distance away; she was standing at his door with Takeru. Oikawa was extremely thankful that he lived on the ground floor, because he’d have hated hopping up stairs on one foot. 

“Tooru, are you hurt?” Oikawa’s sister had asked in concern as she watched the man hop over.

Oikawa waved a hand dismissively. “Just strained my old injury a bit. No worries though.”

“Don’t over do it, little brother,” the woman said as she glanced at Iwaizumi. “Who’s your friend?”

Iwaizumi spoke before Oikawa could. “I’m Iwaizumi Hajime. I work at the wilderness preserve where these two were hiking today.”

“Ah, that explains why Takeru is such a mess,” Oikawa’s sister said as she ruffled her son’s hair. “I’m going to use your bath, Tooru. This little dirt monster isn’t getting into my car like this.”

Oikawa nodded. “I already figured you would,” he said. Then he glanced at Iwaizumi. “Can you unlock the door? You’ve got the keys.”

Iwaizumi pulled the keys out from where he’d stuck them in his pocket and looked at them. “Which one is it?”

“It’s the one with a black dot on both sides,” Oikawa replied as he took his arm off of Iwaizumi’s shoulders and grabbed the man’s arm to balance himself instead. 

Iwaizumi unlocked the door, and the four people made their way inside. Takeru and his mom immediately went to the bathroom so the boy could get cleaned up. Meanwhile, Oikawa and Iwaizumi made their way to the couch. 

Once Oikawa was seated, Iwaizumi slid the backpack off and crouched down in front of the man. “Can I do anything for you?”

“When you say anything, do you mean  _ anything? _ ” Oikawa asked with a flirtatious grin.

Iwaizumi blushed. “I meant can I do anything to help with your pain.”

Oikawa hummed and reached a hand out to brush Iwaizumi’s cheek. “You’re so cute when you’re blushing. Would you get me some painkillers? There are some in the kitchen, on the counter.” 

Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa’s hand away as he stood up. “Don’t say embarrassing things. Especially while you sister’s here.”

“Don’t be shy, Iwa-chan. She already knows what I’m like, and I’m sure she’ll approve of you once she gets to spend more time with you,” Oikawa replied with a teasing smile. 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes as he went to the kitchen to get the medicine off the counter. 

At that moment, Oikawa’s sister stomped into the living room. “Why is my son saying he almost fell off a cliff today, Tooru?”

Oikawa shifted nervously; he hadn’t wanted to deal with this conversation yet. “Oh… he told you about that, did he?”

“So it’s true?! I can’t believe you’d let that happen!” Oikawa’s sister was practically fuming. 

Oikawa glanced towards the kitchen, where Iwaizumi was filling up a glass of water to go along with the painkillers. “Uhm, technically he did go over the edge for a minute, yes. But Iwa-chan saved him and everything was fine right after!”

Oikawa’s sister looked like she was contemplating his murder. “If you’re going to take him somewhere dangerous, you have to watch him! The whole time!”

Oikawa frowned. “I did watch him the whole time! It happened in the blink of an eye, okay?!”

“So you just watched him playing on the edge of a cliff and did nothing about it until he was already falling?”

“I didn’t do ‘nothing’! I comforted him right afterwards, and I hurt my knee in the process of trying to help him!”

At that moment, Iwaizumi awkwardly walked back into the room and handed Oikawa the painkillers with a glass of water. Then he glanced at Oikawa’s sister and cleared his throat. “I’d like to apologize to you on behalf of the wilderness preserve staff. That incident today was our fault, not his.”

Oikawa’s sister flipped her hair in a way very similar to how Oikawa usually flipped his own hair. “Maybe you should maintain your park a little better,” she said icily. 

“Don’t be mean to him, he’s the one who saved your son,” Oikawa said defensively. 

“It’s fine,” Iwaizumi said as he looked at Oikawa. “She has every right to be upset.” 

“Damn right I’m upset. I’m going to be pissed for a long time, so don’t think I’ll be letting Takeru stay here with you anytime soon,” said Oikawa’s sister as she crossed her arms. 

Oikawa frowned as he took the painkillers that Iwaizumi had brought to him. Afterwards, he looked at his sister apologetically. “I’m really sorry, okay?”

“As you should be,” she said as she stormed back to the bathroom to hurry her son along out of the tub. 

Iwaizumi waited until Oikawa’s sister was back in the bathroom before he sat down beside Oikawa on the couch. “Sorry you got yelled at.”

Oikawa shrugged and tried to act like he wasn’t upset, even though he was hurt by his sister’s words. “Mothers are like that, you know? It’s whatever.”

Iwaizumi nudged into Oikawa’s side gently. “I can tell you’re upset. You don’t have to hide it from me.”

Oikawa sniffled and shook his head as he blinked away tears. “I’m not going to cry in front of you. Not yet, at least. I’ll save the waterworks for when you’re already smitten with me. You know, to ease you into the full experience of dating me.”

“I’ve never been one to ease into things. I like to dive right in,” Iwaizumi replied with a tender grin as he glanced sideways at Oikawa. 

“That’s good to hear, because I actually really need to cry just a little bit,” Oikawa said as a few tears slipped out. 

Iwaizumi put an arm over Oikawa’s shoulder and pulled the man against his side. He was silent as Oikawa cried against his shoulder. After a few minutes, Takeru came bounding out of the bathroom followed by his mom. 

“Thanks for letting me come visit! I had so much fun! Hey, why are you crying,” Takeru asked as he studied his uncle’s face. 

Oikawa sat up straight and wiped his eyes. “No reason, Take-chan.”

“Is Iwa-chan being mean to you?” Takeru asked while turning to glare at Iwaizumi. 

“Oh no, don’t you start calling me that too,” Iwaizumi said with a sigh. 

Oikawa turned his body and hugged Iwaizumi while giving the most cheerful grin he could muster. “Iwa-chan is being very nice, so don’t you worry about us.”

Oikawa’s sister looked at the two men on the couch and raised an eyebrow. After studying them quietly for a moment, she cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Tooru. I know you care about Takeru. I was just shocked, okay?”

Takeru looked at his mom. “You hurt his feelings?”

Oikawa’s sister sighed and guided her son towards the front door. “Come on, we need to leave. It’s going to be way past your bedtime when we get home.”

“Bye uncle, love you!” Takeru called out as he was pushed out the front door.

“I love you too, Take-chan,” Oikawa replied with a watery smile. The front door closed right after.

Iwaizumi reached across Oikawa and grabbed a box of tissues off the side table, then offered them to the man. “Think she’s really going to keep him away from you?”

Oikawa let out a short laugh. “I doubt it. She likes having a break from parenting, and once she calms down, she’ll forgive me.”

“It wasn’t your fault, you know,” Iwaizumi said softly.

Oikawa gave a small grin. “Well, to be honest… I was a little distracted with checking you out when I should have been watching him. So I actually  _ am _ kind of at fault.”

Iwaizumi blushed a bit as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll try to be less distracting in the future, but I still don’t think it was your fault at all. Accidents happen and we can’t control them.”

“You’re very sweet, you know,” Oikawa said as he glanced at Iwaizumi thoughtfully. “Do you want to shower? You can borrow some of my clothes and wash your work uniform so you have it ready for tomorrow.”

“That would be really nice, yeah,” said Iwaizumi. “Should I find some clothes myself or do you want to hobble along to your bedroom and get some for me?”

Oikawa smirked. “What about another piggyback ride?”

Iwaizumi scoffed loudly at that. But he ended up squatting down in front of the couch anyway. “This is the last one,” he said in a firm voice.

Oikawa grinned happily as he climbed onto Iwaizumi’s back. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet Suga and Akaashi. Iwaizumi and Oikawa spend quality time together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where I want you to jump over and listen to Take A Chance On Me by ABBA. it will make some references better understood and then maybe you'll laugh like I did. (Or maybe not, I'll always laugh at my own joke but you don't have to haha)

It was the next day and Oikawa was at work. He had gotten a ride from Akaashi, since his knee was still in too much pain to drive safely. It was currently lunchtime and he had just finished telling his two close coworkers about his weekend. 

"Shut up, he did not give you a piggyback ride! I don't really know the man that well, but I just  _ cannot _ picture it!" Suga spoke while shaking his silver haired head in disbelief and giving a cheeky grin.

"I assure you that he did, multiple times. He’s a lot sweeter than you guys seem to think,” Oikawa said with a soft smile and a dreamy sigh. 

Akaashi spoke very calmly; his dark blue eyes and composed face did not betray his hidden interest in the situation. "I was pretty surprised when you called me last night, saying you’d need a ride to work. But I was even more surprised this morning when I pulled up in front of your apartment and saw Iwaizumi-san hugging you goodbye." 

"And I was shocked when I got a text last night with a picture of a certain shirtless man sleeping on Oikawa’s couch!" Suga was laughing in a way that made his dark brown eyes light up; the skin around them crinkled pleasantly and accentuated the small mole under his left eye. 

“Aside from hurting my knee and getting yelled at by my sister, it was a great weekend," Oikawa said cheerfully. 

Suddenly, Hinata walked into the room with a bag full of take out containers. They were filled with the various orders from the employees who worked in the one story office building. "Oikawa! It's good to see you again. Here’s your salad. Akaashi, I've got your regular order right here. Suga, this one's for you. Yamaguchi said he guarantees you'll be pleased with this new recipe!”

Hinata had pulled out three of the boxes and a small container of soup while talking and had set them on the table in front of their respective owners. Akaashi took the soup and removed the lid while Suga and Oikawa took their boxes and opened them.

"It was fun seeing you outside of our usual environment yesterday. You caught me off guard with that jump," Oikawa said while smiling at Hinata. 

Hinata beamed happily. "It's been a while since I've been able to use my full jumping skills. What you saw was only a taste. Since everyone at the station used to play volleyball, we should set up a match sometime! Anyway, I need to deliver the rest of these meals before they get cold. Later guys!" 

"I didn't realize that everyone at the ranger station used to play volleyball," Suga commented as he opened his take out box and examined what Yamaguchi created just for him; it was some combination of noodles, vegetables, and beef. 

"Mhmm. And I bet Sawamura-san would love to play with a certain ashen haired setter I know," Oikawa said with a knowing smile and a wink. He then stabbed at his salad and took a bite. 

Suga blushed and stammered out a response. "I don't, well uhm... I don't know about that. I mean, he might not be gay." 

"Goodness me, Suga. I meant to play volleyball with. But I do like where your mind went, and yes, he would definitely love to play with that too," Oikawa said with a giggle. He popped a cherry tomato in his mouth and grinned while chewing it.

"Almost everyone working at the ranger station is gay, I think," Akaashi said, as if he were stating the weather. Having already finished his soup, he started eating his rice and chicken stir fry with vegetables.

"Mhm, that's true. From what Iwa-chan tells me, someone there is pining for you, Akaashi," Oikawa said; he was measuring Akaashi's reaction as he watched the man closely.

It was very slight, but Akaashi’s mouth twitched and the slightest blush covered his cheeks. His chopsticks paused a moment too long in his mouth before he recovered and continued eating. After a moment, he replied calmly. "I'm not sure who you mean.”

"Who could it be?  _ Who _ ,  _ Who _ ? I think you know exactly  _ who _ it is," Oikawa said. He set down his fork and fanned his fingers out on top of his head to mimic Bokuto's owlish hair while chuckling at his own joke. 

"I know  _ who _ has his eyes locked on Akaashi whenever we go out there for a work retreat. And I've seen my shy friend looking at the man when he think no one’s watching," Suga teased as he poked at Akaashi with his elbow. "Speaking of work retreats, we have one coming in a few months. That’s going to be your first one with us since joining the company, right Oikawa?"

Oikawa smiled and nodded. "I’m very much looking forward to it. Iwa-chan promised me a private night tour, although I hope I don't have to wait that long for it," he said as he stabbed more salad.

"A private night tour? That sounds naughty," Suga said while making some suggestive hand gestures.

“I certainly hope it will be,” said Oikawa as he grinned at Suga and Akaashi. "I’m also looking forward to watching you two make a move. Because I’m a good friend, and I’ll not let you two pine away after men you could easily have.”

Akaashi raised both eyebrows, which was almost a dramatic outburst for him. His chopsticks paused halfway between his box of food and his mouth. "I think I must have misheard you."

"Oh shush, we both know you heard me. What are you so afraid of? The man likes you a lot. I saw him blush when your name was mentioned yesterday," said Oikawa as he stared intensely at Akaashi while he spoke.

"He never approaches me to talk, except for short greetings. But then he always rushes off right after," Akaashi said quietly. His composure had remained on his face even though his voice had raised ever so slightly. 

"Well there’s a simple explanation for that. He thinks you're too good for him, and he’s acting like a coward," Oikawa said while waving his hand in the air, swatting away imaginary excuses. 

"You're  _ really _ selling the guy,” Suga said sarcastically. “Are you sure you work in advertising?" He had just finished his lunch and went to toss the empty container in the trash. 

Akaashi had also finished his food at that point. "I'm sure Bokuto-san could be with anyone he wants. Plus, he seems very close to Kuroo-san so maybe they're a couple already. I think you're making something out of nothing," he said evenly as he got up to dispose of his trash. 

Oikawa tossed his hair. "Kuroo’s a bit of a flirt, but there’s nothing between him and Bokuto. Plus, yesterday I happened to witness what promises to be the start of a beautiful romance. You've both met Quiet-kun? Kenma, I mean. Well Kuroo met him yesterday and let's just say, sparks flew. The sexual tension between them was thicker than Bokuto's thighs. And I'm sure, Akaashi, that you know just how thick those are from your "stealthy" observations."

Akaashi blushed deeply at that; it was apparent that he was in fact aware of the density of Bokuto’s thighs. 

Oikawa limped to the trash can and dropped his take out box into it, then turned dramatically towards his two friends. "Don't let opportunity pass you by, boys.  _ Take a chance, take a chance, take-a-chance-take-a-chance-take-a-chance _ ," he leaned towards the two men while he was singing, making lewd hand gestures at them.

"Don't sing ABBA at us while doing that with your hands," Suga said while he laughed deeply. 

"I'm going back to my office now," said Akaashi. He was not willing to encourage Oikawa's antics. Suga smiled as he shook his head and went to follow Akaashi out of the break room.

_ "Oh, you can take your time, baby… I'm in no hurry... know I'm gonna get you," _ Oikawa sang after the two men. He had his hands on his hips as he thrust them front to back while balancing on his good leg. 

Asahi had the misfortune of walking into the break room while this was happening; his face went red and he seemed like he didn't know where to look. 

Oikawa smiled at the man. "I had the pleasure of meeting your boyfriend yesterday. He isn't what I’d pictured when you mentioned him before, but I can see how you two complete each other. Some interesting dynamics for you two, I’m sure. By the way, did you also play volleyball in highschool?" 

Asahi nodded his head; he was flustered by the directness of Oikawa’s words. He still wasn't sure where to look and had settled for staring at his hands. He still wasn't used to Oikawa and found the man very intimidating.

Oikawa looked Asahi up and down. "You're a wing spiker, I'm sure. And I bet you were even the ace."

"How… how did you... know that? Did Noya mention it?" Asahi asked while briefly looking up at Oikawa. 

"No, I'm just good at guessing when it comes to volleyball positions, and other kinds of positions. I figured out that Suga and Akaashi are both setters as soon as I met them. That’s probably why we click so well, don't you think? And after meeting your boyfriend yesterday, I confirmed my guess on your other position. Anyway, I have a meeting in a few minutes. Good chat, though. I'll be sure to join you and the others for triple date night soon!"

With that, Oikawa limped around Asahi and left the breakroom. 

Asahi felt very exposed after that conversation. He went to lock himself in his office and call Nishinoya for encouragement so he could make it through the rest of his work day. 

\---

**To Iwa-chan**

**1:45pm:**

_ Cause you know I've got _

_ So much that I wanna do _

_ When I dream I'm alone with you, it's magic _

**From Iwa-chan**

**1:49pm:**

_ Are those ABBA lyrics? _

**To Iwa-chan**

**1:50pm:**

_ TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, IWA-CHAN!! _

**From Iwa-chan**

**1:51pm:**

_ I'm not going to sing-text with you, Shittykawa. This isn't High School Musical.  _

**To Iwa-chan**

**1:53pm:**

_ Gonna do my very best _

_ Baby, can't you see _

_ Gotta put me to the test _

_ Take a chance on me _

**From Iwa-chan**

**1:54pm:**

_ You're lucky you're so cute because you’re a total dork. _

**To Iwa-chan**

**1:55pm:**

_ Aw you think I'm cute, Iwa-chan!?  _

_ I wish I could kiss you! _

**From Iwa-chan**

**1:55pm:**

_ Stop wishing and do it then. _

**To Iwa-chan**

**1:56pm:**

_ You know I will as soon as i see you next ;) ;) ;) _

_ Speaking of wishing and doing, do you want to help me with operation DaiSuga and operation BokuAka? _

**From Iwa-chan**

**1:57pm:**

_ What does that even mean? _

**To Iwa-chan**

**1:58pm:**

_ I MEAN that we’re going to help Daichi get Suga, and help Bokuto get Akaashi.  _

**From Iwa-chan**

**2:00pm:**

_ Should we be meddling in their love lives? _

**To Iwa-chan**

**2:01pm:**

_ What a silly question. Of course we should. They’re all being frightened little cowards, and without our help there’s no way they are going to TAKE A CHANCE. Call me tonight so we can talk about it okay? Okay ;) ;) _

**From Iwa-chan**

**2:02pm**

Still seems like a bad idea. I have to go help check the railing now, but I'll call you tonight. 

\---

  
  


Oikawa held his cell phone to his ear as he soaked his sore knee and tired body in a bath. He had just finished telling Iwaizumi about his detailed plan to get his friends into relationships. 

"So you want to get Daichi and Suga together... and you want to get Bokuto and Akaashi together… and you want to do it  _ before  _ you guys have your retreat in a few months?" Iwaizumi's reluctant voice came across the phone. 

"Exactly. I think it’ll be better to start with Daichi and Suga. That one’s going to be easier, and less likely to blow up in our face. Between me and you, Akaashi seems like he knows how to get rid of a body. And I don't want to find out first hand by making him mad with a rushed plan.”

Iwaizumi’s short sigh came across through the phone before he spoke. “Wouldn’t you avoid making him mad if you just didn’t meddle in his private life?”

Oikawa chuckled. “That wouldn’t be any fun. So anyway, for Daichi and Suga I think the best way to go about it will be tricking them into a date. They need to be forced together with no distractions or interruptions."

"I hope you realize how creepy that makes you sound." Iwaizumi replied teasingly. 

"You're talking to me while I'm naked, and you call me creepy?" 

"Uhm. Why are you naked?" Iwaizumi asked in a voice that was suddenly tighter.

"I'm in the bath soaking my knee. I wish you were here to help me out though... I overdid it at work and I'm a little stuck," Oikawa said while smirking to himself. 

"What? Oh. Uhm. I mean, I could be there in an hour?" Iwaizumi sounded flustered.

"You can find the spare key in the middle of the rose bush on my doorstep." Oikawa said before he hung up.

\---

Iwaizumi let himself into Oikawa's apartment just under an hour later. When he walked in, he found Oikawa on the couch wearing alien pajama bottoms and a light blue t-shirt.

Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi and smiled. "That was fast! I ordered pizza for us, it got here just before you did,” he said as he motioned towards the coffee table in front of the couch, where two plates sat next to a large pizza box. 

"I thought you needed help out of the bath," Iwaizumi said; he sounded slightly disappointed about how dressed Oikawa had turned out to be. He slipped out of his shoes before joining the man on the couch. 

"That might have just been to get you here, sorry! You don't get to see me naked until the third date at least. And this is just our first date,” Oikawa said with a grin.

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. “I thought getting ice cream on the way home yesterday was our first date?”

“What? No way. It couldn’t be a date when Take-chan was there with us,” Oikawa replied as he leaned against Iwaizumi’s arm. “Besides, I think you should be the one to plan out the date you owe me. Especially since I went through the trouble of planning this one." 

Iwaizumi chuckled. “I didn’t realize how specific your expectations were going to be.”

“Afraid you won’t live up to them?” Oikawa teased.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I’ll manage. I don’t think you’re that hard to please.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” said Oikawa. He leaned forward and pressed play on the remote, then opened the pizza box and got himself a slice. 

"What are we watching?" Iwaizumi asked as he leaned forward to get himself some pizza.

"Stargate SG1! Nothing better than pizza and Stargate, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said as he sat back with his plate of pizza and curled against Iwaizumi's side.

"I’ve never seen that before," Iwaizumi said casually. He put an arm over Oikawa’s shoulders and ate his pizza with one hand.

"Hmmph?" Oikawa had a mouth full of pizza, but it was clear that he was surprised. 

"I get the feeling you're a space nerd, Trashykawa," Iwaizumi teased as he nodded towards Oikawa’s alien pajamas.

Oikawa pouted slightly. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. I think it's cute,” Iwaizumi said as he pressed a kiss against Oikawa's lips. 

"You’re just full of flattery, aren't you. I'm glad I  _ took a chance on you _ ," Oikawa said playfully as he stole another kiss from Iwaizumi.

"You're also an ABBA nerd, I guess. I haven't decided if that's cute or not yet... ow!" Iwaizumi's words were cut off by Oikawa's elbow in his ribs.

"First of all, we’re going to watch Mamma Mia next time we have a movie night. Since I'd bet you haven't even seen it," Oikawa said in a dramatic voice. Then he leaned close to Iwaizumi's ear and whispered. "Second, if you don't love me at my singing ABBA in the shower, you don't deserve me at my naked on top of you."

Iwaizumi blushed at Oikawa’s words. "I've actually seen Mamma Mia many times, thanks to Kuroo and Bokuto. They put it on all the time and practically act out the whole movie, including the singing. If Tanaka and Nishinoya are around, they join in too."

"Give me Kuroo's phone number. I want to be invited to the next Mamma Mia night," Oikawa said as he grabbed his phone off the table.

"No way. You two team up on me enough as it is," Iwaizumi said as he set his empty plate on the coffee table. He took Oikawa’s empty plate as well and set it next to his.

"Don't be jealous that Kuroo and I bonded, Iwa-chan. He can never replace you in my heart." Oikawa kissed Iwaizumi deeply in an attempt to distract the man. At the same time, he reached for Iwaizumi’s pocket to try to dig out the man’s phone. 

"Mmnnn," Iwaizumi mumbled against Oikawa's lips as he grabbed the man’s hand to stop it. He broke off the kiss and smirked. "You can’t have my phone and I’m not giving you Kuroo’s number. You’ll have to get it yourself.” 

“That won’t be hard. I can just call the station and ask your boss for it,” Oikawa said playfully. 

Iwaizumi scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Daichi’s not going to give out someone’s personal information.”

“I’ll just offer to trade him for Suga’s number then,” Oikawa retorted with a mischievous grin. 

“Good luck with that. We’re missing the thing you wanted to watch, Shittykawa," said Iwaizumi. He moved himself behind Oikawa to lay down on the couch, then wrapped an arm around the man’s waist. “C’mere.”

Oikawa gave in without a fight and laid down with his back against Iwaizumi's chest. Then he pulled the blanket off the top of the couch and spread it over both their bodies, snuggling himself up under it. "If you don't pay attention you're going to miss out of the storyline.” 

"Shh, I'm watching," Iwaizumi teased as he put an arm over Oikawa and held the man close.

Oikawa relaxed against Iwaizumi's body and turned his attention to the TV screen. Twenty minutes later, they were both asleep. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Operation Parent Trap in full swing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can find the Matchmaker song from Fiddler On The Roof. This will improve the quality of my joke references lol  
> [found the song haha](https://youtu.be/59Hj7bp38f8)

\---One Month Later---

Kuroo climbed into the driver's side of Kenma's car, which was parked near the ranger station. "Hey there, cutie," he said as he grabbed one of Kenma's hands and pressed a kiss to it. Then he released it to let his boyfriend focus both hands on the game he was playing.

"Don't say embarrassing things in public," Kenma replied calmly as a light blush dusted his face.

"Inside of a car is hardly public. There’s a lot we could do in here," Kuroo said suggestively as he backed the car up and drove out of the parking lot.

Kenma rolled his eyes. "I’m sure you’d come up with all sorts of things."

Kuroo chuckled. "By the way, thanks for the arrangements you helped make for today, with Yamaguchi and Hinata. It's really going to help."

"It's no problem. You meddle too much though. You and Oikawa, both," Kenma said. His fingers danced around buttons as he focused on his game.

"I think I meddle just the right amount, actually," Kuroo said while giving a crooked smirk. "On that note, I need you to do something for me on Monday."

"No," Kenma said plainly.

Kuroo gave a playful pout. "You didn't even let me tell you what it is!" 

"Knowing you, it probably involves talking to people I don't want to talk to, or meddling. Probably both, so no," Kenma said dryly.

"What if I told you it only involved talking to one person that you already know. At a certain place you already go to frequently. And it would lead to you getting a fresh baked apple pie made by yours truly," Kuroo countered.

Kenma's fingers paused and he glanced over at Kuroo. He was considering the proposition seriously but didn’t seem sold on it.

Kuroo grinned confidently; he was ready to get his way. "When we get to your place, I'll also clean the whole apartment. Then I’ll rub your shoulders. After that, you can play the new game I got for you."

After a brief moment, Kenma returned his focus to his game. "Fine, what do you need me to do?"

\---Elsewhere, At The Same Time---

Suga looked out the driver's window of Oikawa's car. "I thought you said we were going shopping, but I don't remember any stores being out here in the forest. Why are you having me drive out here? You know that if you kill me, Akaashi will probably figure it out, right?" 

Oikawa waved a hand in the air playfully. "Did I forget to mention? I have to go get something from Iwa-chan. We’ll go shopping after we get lunch, my treat!"

"This is why you wanted me to leave the house at 9am on Saturday? If I knew we were going to be in the car for an hour, I would have brought a book and made you read it to me!" Suga sighed and focused on the road ahead, which was becoming bumpier. The forest around the road was slowly growing thicker.

"We don't need a book, Suga. I just got a new audiobook!" Oikawa reached forward and pressed play on the stereo. The narrator of the book began speaking about alien conspiracy theories.

Suga groaned and reached out to shut it off. “Have you guys even gone an entire day without seeing each other this past month? I feel like you’re always together.”

“I know, right? It’s awesome. I’m thinking about asking him to move in, but it’s probably way too soon,” Oikawa said in a thoughtful voice. 

Suga laughed. “Yeah, I’d say it’s a little soon. Your knee seems to be doing a lot better, how much longer until you can drive?”

“My physical therapist said I should wait a few more weeks at least, but I messed my knee up pretty bad this time. And since I’m not a spry young teenager anymore, my healing is a much slower process,” Oikawa said with a pout. “But I do like having an excuse to get piggyback rides from Iwa-chan. So that’s the brightside!”

Suga chuckled. “He absolutely spoils you.”

“He really does, though,” Oikawa said softly. “No one’s ever treated me as well as he does.”

“I’m really happy for you two,” Suga said sincerely. 

“I’d love to see you so happy with someone,” Oikawa said with a slightly mischievous grin. Then he reached forward and played the audiobook again. “Let me listen to this, okay? I’ve been waiting for the chance.”

Suga groaned loudly but didn’t shut it off. “Fine, but you owe me.”

“I’ll do something to make up for it sooner than you think,” Oikawa commented slyly. 

After an hour that felt like an eternity, Suga pulled the car into the guest parking area of the ranger station. He turned to Oikawa with a curious expression. "So what do you need to get from Iwaizumi? Do you want me to run in and get it?"

Oikawa was typing something into his phone, but he quickly looked at Suga and shook his head. "No, no, no. It's something I have to get myself. My knee is so much better these days, I'll be fine to walk. Let's go together!"

Suga shrugged and then got out of the car. He walked over and gave Oikawa his arm for support and then they slowly moved towards the building. Oikawa had to limp slightly, but he could bear a little bit of weight on his hurt leg.

Once they were inside, Iwaizumi spotted them from Daichi's office and waved. They made their way over to the office door, and Iwaizumi held it open for them so they could come in.

Oikawa smiled at Iwaizumi. "Such a gentleman, Iwa-chan!" He then turned towards Daichi. "Hello again, Sawamura-san."

"Hello Oikawa-san. And Sugawara-san. Is there anything I can help you with?" Daichi replied as his gaze landed on Suga.

"We’ve known each other for a bit now, can I just call you Daichi? Great, thanks,” Oikawa said without waiting for an answer. “You know, now that you offer, are you busy right now Daichi?" 

"I'm not pressed for time today, though I'm about to have my lunch break. Why, what did you need?" Daichi was still looking at Suga and a light blush dusted his cheeks.

"It's kind of sad actually. You see, Suga-chan has been lonely lately. And so I offered to set him up on a date with a friend of mine. But as fate would have it, my friend bailed last minute. He said something about finding love on the subway last night,” said Oikawa. Then he wrapped an arm over Suga’s shoulders and continued spouting lies. 

“It’s probably better this way, because I can see now that they’d have been a bad match. And that brings us to the here and now. I know this is sudden, Daichi, but do you think you could fill in as Suga's lunch date? He has reservations for two in just over an hour."

Suga was looking at Oikawa like he wasn't sure if he should stab the man or thank him. Perhaps both, and time would tell. He was resisting the urge to punch his friend in front of Daichi though; he was more than a little curious about how the situation would play out.

Daichi was completely surprised and was struggling to find the right words for his reply, let alone decide what the right reply would be. He literally opened and closed his mouth a few times and looked terribly similar to a fish out of water. 

Oikawa noted Daichi's hesitancy. He also noticed Suga's shock, which barely masked the man’s hope, so he continued with his plan. "Well... I guess if you’re too busy, we could ask Bokuto."

Daichi's face twisted up as he imagined Bokuto holding Suga’s hand, or Bokuto kissing the man, and the words came out before he could filter them. "I would love to go on a date with Suga, of course! I guess Iwaizumi can handle being in charge for a couple hours..."

While Daichi rubbed the back of his head with one hand, his blush intensified. And Suga looked like he was trying to suppress a smile as a heavy blush dusted his own cheeks. The two men stared at each other silently.

Oikawa elbowed Iwaizumi, which reminded the man of what he was supposed to say. “I can’t be in charge because I promised Oikawa that I’d spend some time with him. Today’s our one month anniversary, so I was going to take off early.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll just ask Kuroo, then,” Daichi said as he grabbed his radio from where it was clipped onto his shirt pocket. "Kuroo, come in. This is Daichi."

There was silence.

"Kuroo, come in," Daichi tried again.

Bokuto's voice came through instead. "Uhm. Kuroo is  _ really  _ busy right now. Can I take a message?"

"Busy with what exactly? How hard is it to give a radio response?" Daichi looked irritated. He glanced at Suga, who was giving him a shy grin. Beside the man was Oikawa, who was giving a pleased grin.

Bokuto’s voice was hesitant in his response. "Well, he probably isn't in radio range, so he can't respond, I mean..." 

"Bokuto. Where’s Kuroo?" Daichi asked sternly.

"He uh... he went to... to find someone… or meet someone maybe... uh… he said it was really important," Bokuto stammered.

"I saw Kuroo get into a black car with red stripes down the middle a short while ago," Tsukishima's voice said over the radio.

"Oh, right! Uh, he said that if you asked, he was meeting with a financial donor to discuss something important!" Bokuto yelled through the radio.

Daichi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "I'm not going to be able to leave the station if Iwaizumi is taking the day off, and Kuroo isn't here to manage things while I'm gone." As much as Kuroo liked to goof off, the man was actually the most responsible person at the station besides Daichi and Iwaizumi.

Oikawa saw Suga's hopeful expression fall subtly from the corner of his eye. Luckily, everything was going according to his plan. "That's quite alright, Daichi. You don't need to drive all the way to town after all. You guys can have your date in the cafeteria! They say it's not the place that matters. It's the company that makes a date magical!”

Daichi looked at Oikawa for a moment as the wheels in his mind turned. He looked over at Suga afterwards. "Uhm, well then, Sugawara-san. If you don't mind, would you join me for lunch in the cafeteria?"

Suga was shocked into silence for a moment; so much so that Daichi almost seemed like he would take back the offer and apologize instead. "I'd love to join you for lunch. And please, just call me Suga. All my friends do." 

Daichi let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Ok, Suga. Call me Daichi, then. Let me walk you to the cafeteria." He stood and walked around his desk, then opened the door for Suga. Together they walked out into the hallway, leaving Iwaizumi and Oikawa behind.

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi and winked; he was pleased with the success of his plan so far. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the man, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "Didn't that go perfectly, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa crooned as he wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi's shoulders and pressed a kiss against the man’s lips.

"You play risky games, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi replied in between returning kisses to Oikawa.

"You did manage to get the cook from The Cozy Cat here, right? Both him and chibi-chan?" Oikawa asked as he pulled back to look at his boyfriend.

Iwaizumi nodded. "Yeah, they both said that they could be here until about 1pm if needed. They said they don't need to be back at The Cozy Cat until after 2pm."

Oikawa looked extremely pleased as he grinned widely. "That's plenty of time. I hope Tanaka and Nishinoya finished their job already. They seem the type to get distracted."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they did what you wanted. But I'm never going to live it down, asking them to do that. You should have heard them calling me a matchmaker. They even started singing that matchmaker song from Fiddler On The Roof, right as Bokuto and Kuroo came into the room. And then they were all holding hands and dancing around me, singing 'matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch' and now that song is stuck in my head." Iwaizumi shuddered at the memory.

Oikawa threw his head back and laughed. "I wish I had that on video! For someone who claims to not like musicals, you sure have seen a lot of them."

Iwaizumi flicked Oikawa’s nose before shutting the man up with another kiss.

\---

Meanwhile, Daichi and Suga were in front of the cafeteria. Daichi had paused at the door, because all the windows that usually gave a view into the cafeteria were covered.

"What the hell..." Daichi started to say.

At that moment, Tanaka and Nishinoya came bursting through the cafeteria door. They slammed it closed behind them while laughing. When they saw Daichi and Suga, both nearly jumped out of their skin; Tanaka screamed like he'd seen a ghost and leapt into Nishinoya's arms.

Daichi crossed his arms at the two men; he was sure that a scolding was in order for whatever they were sneaking around to do.

Nishinoya recovered first and spoke loudly. "Daichi! Sugawara! How wonderful to see you both, here, together, at the same time!"

Tanaka nodded enthusiastically in agreement as he slid out of Nishinoya's arms and bowed to them both. "We have something, somewhere... something important to do! But don't you two worry, you won't be interrupted!"

With that, the two men raced away down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

Daichi still had his arms crossed and was also frowning irritably; he had worked up a scolding and didn't get to release it. 

Suga reached a hand towards Daichi and set it on the man’s shoulder. "Should we be worried, Dachi?"

Daichi startled slightly at the touch and then gave a smile tinted with nervousness. "We should probably proceed with caution. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely nervous about what’s going on in there."

Suga laughed and squeezed Daichi's shoulder before stepping around the man and pulling the door handle. "Let's find out together, shall we?" He gave Daichi a daring look before stepping through the door.

Once they were both inside, their bodies froze from surprise; nothing could have prepared them for what they saw. The cafeteria was usually bright from a large window along the back wall and light from the hallway windows. But now the room was darkened by curtains. There were small yellow and orange colored lights strung around the ceiling of the room that gave a warm ambiance. 

All the tables had been moved from the room, except for a small one in the very center; it had a white tablecloth over it. There was a glass vase in the middle of the table with a dozen roses inside; the stems were wrapped with a string of tiny white lights. Two chairs were at the table, and they were significantly nicer than the chairs that were usually in the cafeteria. There was quiet classical music playing from somewhere in the room. 

Over near where the refrigerator and island counter were, a large partition had been made with tall curtains; the area was like a small room within the cafeteria. Both Yamaguchi and Hinata were standing near the opening of the makeshift room. Yamaguchi bowed at them with a smile and then retreated into the makeshift kitchen.

Hinata rushed forward and bowed; he spoke excitedly when he stood back up. "Welcome! I'm Hinata, I'll be your server today!"

Suga looked at Hinata and gave an amused smile. "I already know who you are, Hinata. You  _ kind of _ bring me lunch at work everyday."

Hinata winked and managed to almost whisper; this was a feat for him. "Shh, we can't break the mood." Then he returned to his normal volume as he continued speaking. "Please follow me to your table, it's right this way!"

Suga looked at Daichi and let out a small giggle; he was feeling both bewildered and delighted. Daichi was looking like he felt about the same. Together they followed Hinata to the table. 

Once there, Daichi pulled out a chair for Suga and then took the seat across from the man.

Hinata handed them each a piece of paper with 'menu’ printed across the top; there was an appetizer, main dish, dessert, and drink listed on the homemade menu. "Your meal today will consist of soup, followed by salad topped with chicken and fresh vegetables. We also have cheesecake for dessert, Kuroo helped Oikawa make it!"

Hinata smacked his hands over his mouth and squeaked. "I mean, there will be cheesecake for dessert made by the restaurant's capable staff! Can I start you with a glass of grape juice? I mean… non alcoholic wine..."

Suga grinned merrily; he had pieced things together and mentally promised himself to punch Oikawa in the ribs later as both thanks and punishment. "Juice would be lovely, thank you Hinata."

Daichi nodded. "Yes, I'd like juice. Thank you."

Hinata scrambled away to the makeshift kitchen and disappeared behind the tall curtains. His voice carried across the room as he spoke to Yamaguchi. “They both want juice! I mean, non alcoholic wine!”

Daichi turned to Suga and smiled sheepishly. "I have a feeling that you didn't actually get stood up by your date?"

Suga ran a hand through his silver hair and let out a sigh as he grinned. "No, actually. I first heard about it when you did. I thought we were coming here because Oikawa needed to get something from Iwaizumi."

"Seems like what he needed to get from Iwaizumi was help in hatching this plan," Daichi quipped.

“I think you’re right, Daichi,” Suga said with a tilt of his head. “I can’t wait to hear Oikawa explain himself after this.”

Just then, Hinata returned with their drinks; it was grape juice in wine glasses, assumingly to make it seem fancier. He promised them an appetizer as he grinned widely at both men, then hurried back to the makeshift kitchen to help Yamaguchi.

Suga looked around the room again and then giggled while blushing. "You know, it’s like we’re the parents in that movie, The Parent Trap. It feels like our kids are trying to get us together." 

Daichi chuckled and gave a warm smile. "You're right. I think we've been parent-trapped. And you know, Suga, I think I'm really glad about it."

“I’m happy about it too,” Suga said with a playful grin.

Daichi cleared his throat as he looked away in embarrassment. "All the guys here... they probably… noticed that I’ve had a crush on you for a long time. So I can’t even be surprised that they tried to pull off something like this."

Suga smiled and ran a finger around the rim of his wine glass. "I’ve had a crush on you for a really long time, too. I’ve actually been hoping you’d ask me out since we first met.”

Daichi blushed and tentatively reached for Suga’s free hand, which was resting on the table. “Sorry that I kept you waiting.”

Suga reached out and took Daichi’s hand then winked mischievously. "How will you make it up to me?”

Daichi didn’t get to answer, because Hinata came over just then with bowls of soup. As the orange haired man set down the soup, he noticed that Daichi and Suga were holding hands; he smiled happily and bounced on his heels as he realized the plan had been successful. "I'll bring your salads out soon, please enjoy the soup!"

Daichi thanked Hinata then looked back at Suga. "I'm kicking myself for not asking you this sooner, Suga. Will you go out with me?"

Suga smiled softly and nodded his head. "I'd love to, Daichi."

\---

**To Oikawa**

**11:00am:**

_ Daichi and I just finished lunch. I think I'm going to stick around, so don't wait up! And thank you for this. You’re the most considerate jerk ever.  _

**From Oikawa**

**11:01am:**

_ You're welcome. Have fun. ;) _

\---

Oikawa was relaxing next to Iwaizumi on the man’s bed; he smiled at his phone when he saw the message from Suga. "Well, Iwa-chan, we did it. One match made, one match to make. Suga wants to spend the day with Daichi, it seems. Do you want to come home with me?" 

“I did tell Daichi I was taking the day off," Iwaizumi said as he pressed a quick kiss to Oikawa’s lips. “So sure, let’s go.”


	9. Chapter 9

\---The following Monday---

Oikawa, Akaashi and Suga were sitting in the breakroom on Monday afternoon; their workload was light enough for them to waste some time gossiping over coffee. Suga had just finished telling his friends about his weekend with Daichi.

Oikawa slapped both hands to his own face. "Sugawara Koushi! You had sex on the first date?! I’m shocked, I’m proud, I’m impressed, and I’m going to need more details! No wonder you had to stay the whole weekend with him. You couldn’t easily do an hour riding in a car after who knows how long you spent riding Daichi, you poor thing."

Suga winked while Akaashi choked on his drink. Oikawa reached over to pat Akaashi’s back as he grinned widely. “Maybe spare Akaashi the details though, he might not be able to handle it.”

“What about you and Iwaizumi?” Suga asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

Oikawa tilted his head. “What about us, dear?”

“How’s the sex for you?”

Oikawa actually blushed at that. “Oh… we haven't actually done it yet.” 

Akaashi glanced at Oikawa with a raised eyebrow. “I have a hard time believing that. You’ve been dating for over a month.”

“I’m a little surprised, too,” Suga said as he stirred his coffee slowly. “You two are very touchy and affectionate with each other.”

Oikawa frowned and flipped his hair. "We’ve done plenty of things, just not  _ that _ . You know my knee isn't fully healed yet! I don't want our first time to be dampened by having to be overly cautious."

Akaashi's face didn't betray his amusement as he commented. "I see. Well, I can't imagine Iwaizumi being slow or cautious when it comes to that, so it’s probably the right call to wait until you're up for it."

Oikawa turned to look at Akaashi; his eyes narrowed and a devilish smile graced his lips. "Oh, I'm sure Iwa-chan will ravage me like a wild animal when we finally do it. Much like I imagine Bokuto would ravage you. With how thick his thighs and arms are, I'm sure he could easily hold you pinned up against the wall. And you’d be screaming his name, begging for more."

Akaashi couldn't fully suppress his embarrassment as he cleared his throat; he was trying not to picture Bokuto and himself acting out the scene that Oikawa had just painted with words. But his cheeks ended up flushed despite his efforts to distract himself with other thoughts. 

Suga had a mischievous glint in his eye while he whispered to Akaashi. "I doubt his arms and thighs are the only big things about him." 

Akaashi closed his eyes for a moment and forced the torrent of Bokuto related thoughts out of his mind; he firmly believed that work was not the place for fantasizing. He quickly changed the topic away from himself. "I'm very surprised that you finally went for Sawamura-san," he said as he nodded at Suga.

Suga glanced at Oikawa briefly before turning to Akaashi with a sly grin. "I guess I finally found the right catalyst. It turns out that Daichi’s been into me since our first retreat three years ago. I'm sad about all that time I wasted pining after him without acting on it. We could have been together these past few years."

Akaashi looked at Suga thoughtfully while considering what the man had said. He himself had been pining after Bokuto for the past few years, and he never seemed to be able to work up the courage to even start a conversation with the man. They’d hardly spoken during the ten or so retreats that Shimizu Publishing had held out at the wilderness preserve. 

He’d convinced himself that Bokuto was too good for him, and that the man didn’t find him attractive or interesting. What else was he supposed to think when Bokuto always seemed to hurry out of the few interactions they’d had? The man always looked terribly uncomfortable while talking to him. 

Oikawa’s laughter pulled Akaashi out of his thoughts. 

"How much sex do you think you missed out on these past three years, Suga? I mean, that's probably over 1000 orgasms lost to you because you were too shy to go after who you wanted."

At that moment, Asahi walked into the breakroom. He looked as though he were unsure if he should really be there and wished he could erase what he just heard from his mind. It was all too familiar of a situation; the break room was a dangerous place full of dirty conversation and he didn’t like going there.

Oikawa smiled up at Asahi from the table, and Suga greeted the man with a ‘hello.’ Akaashi looked at Asahi and nodded kindly. 

Asahi looked at each of the three briefly and nodded in greeting. Next he looked to Akaashi hesitantly, then back to Oikawa, who gave him a sly wink. He seemed unsure of whether or not he should say whatever it was that he needed to say.

Akaashi was looking at Asahi closely; he was assessing what the man might need that was making him so nervous. Although Asahi had a flighty disposition, so it could be nothing but his usual anxiety. Either way, Akaashi wanted to be of assistance if he was able. "Asahi-san, good afternoon. Is there anything we can help you with?"

Asahi startled and glanced back at Akaashi. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Well, uhm, actually... Akaashi... Shimizu wanted me to tell you that she’s out at a meeting with a new author, and when she gets back she needs you to stay late. Maybe for an hour, to help finish and send off the final chapter of the latest novel while she meets with Kenma."

Akaashi nodded solemnly. "Okay, thank you for letting me know. That will be fine. I don't have plans this evening, so I can stay and help as needed."

Asahi looked back over at Oikawa, who gave him a devious grin and a couple more winks. 

Meanwhile, Akaashi was still looking at Asahi; he was waiting to be sure the man had finished talking. 

Asahi took a deep breath before he continued talking. "Also, Akaashi. As you know... Shimizu and I commute together to work. We live on the same property and all. And anyway… since she’s out right now with the car… I was wondering if you’d let me borrow your car for a very quick errand."

Akaashi considered it briefly and couldn’t find any reasons that would make him refuse. "Sure, that would be fine," he said as he handed Asahi his keys. "You know my car right? The gold colored Toyota?"

Asahi took the keys gingerly; his eyes were looking almost guilty. "Yes, of course. Thank you. I'll drive it carefully."

"I’m sure you will, I trust you," said Akaashi. He then went to take a drink of his coffee and leaned back in his chair comfortably. 

Asahi seemed to be on the verge of either crying or screeching; instead, he bowed quickly and fled the room. 

“He seemed more stressed than usual,” Akaashi mentioned casually. “I hope he’s not feeling overworked.”

Oikawa grinned and spoke in a veiled way. “Whatever’s bothering him will probably be over with quickly. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Akaashi hummed as he turned to look at Oikawa; the man was acting slightly suspicious. And when it came down to it, so was Suga. Both men were wearing mischievous expressions. He was about to question them when his phone started ringing. It was an important client, so he stepped out of the break room so he could take the call in his office.

\---

Akaashi finished editing the last chapter of a short novel within the extra hour of work he had been asked to stay for; he sent a copy of the final edit to Shimizu and a copy to the printers. As he packed up his things and went to leave, he was joined by both Shimizu and Kenma who were just leaving Shimizu's office.

Akaashi nodded to them and bid them goodnight as they all stepped out of the building and into the parking lot. He then felt around in his pocket for his keys, but then he remembered that Asahi had them; he hadn’t seen the man since he had handed over his keys earlier. He was feeling worried for Asahi's safety as he pulled out his phone to call the man, but saw that he had a text message from Oikawa. 

**From Oikawa Tooru**

**5:55pm:**

Your car is already at your place. You can thank me later ;) ;)

Akaashi frowned as he tried to put the pieces together and understand what Oikawa meant. He didn’t know why he would want to thank the man for arranging to have his car taken home, which essentially left him stranded at work. He’d have to walk or take the subway at this rate. The sound of a loud vehicle drew his attention, making him look up from where he’d been accidentally glaring at the sidewalk while lost in thought. 

At that moment, one of the park ranger company vehicles pulled into the parking lot. Bokuto jumped out of the vehicle, then leaned back in to reach across the front seat; he pulled out a small square box. He then looked over where Kenma, Shimizu, and Akaashi stood on the sidewalk in front of the building. He smiled and waved while calling out to Kenma. But he blushed when he noticed Akaashi looking at him, and almost tripped as he walked over to the small group. 

"Hey, everyone! Kuroo told me you'd be here, Kenma. He wanted me to give you this pie. Said he couldn't bring it himself, guess he had a lot of paperwork or something. So, yeah, here you go!" Bokuto quickly handed the box to Kenma as he finished talking.

Kenma took the box with a small grin on his lips. He nodded at Bokuto in thanks, then walked over to his car. He drove away quickly once he was inside.

Bokuto smiled as he waved goodbye to Kenma, then looked back to Shimizu and Akaashi. "Well, it was good seeing you for a minute. I guess I'll see you in a few weeks, for your retreat, huh?" 

“It was good to see you too,” Akaashi said quietly as he stared at Bokuto intensely. He was still trying to puzzle things out; he had a persistent feeling that Oikawa had something to do with Bokuto coming out to his office at the present moment. His stare must have been even heavier than he intended, because it made Bokuto blush deeply and shift uncomfortably.

With his cheeks and ears as red as a rose, Bokuto started to turn away. "I better get going!"

But before the man could walk away, Shimizu spoke up and grabbed the man’s attention. "Bokuto-san."

Bokuto turned back to her with a curious expression, and seemed to be avoiding looking at Akaashi. "Yeah?"

Shimizu’s voice was calm and assured as she spoke. "Akaashi needs a ride home. Maybe you could help him? I’d do it myself, but I have a prior commitment and I’m already running late. It would be such a help if you could do it." 

She turned to look at Akaashi when she was done speaking; her expression was almost challenging. Akaashi was looking back at her with serious eyes as he calculated the situation, which was growing more and more suspicious by the minute. 

Bokuto suddenly puffed up with excitement and purpose. "Oh! Yeah, yes! I mean, sure, I could give him a ride! That's no problem!" 

Akaashi and Shimizu were still locked in a stare. Neither even blinked; they were both unyielding as they sized each other up. Finally, Akaashi closed his eyes in a silent admission of defeat. Then he turned and looked at Bokuto. "I would appreciate it, thank you Bokuto-san."

Bokuto was practically vibrating as he bounced on his heels. He was smiling so brightly that Akaashi could barely look right at him, it was like staring at the sun. That was the kind of man Bokuto was; full of energy, warmth and heat.

Bokuto reached towards Akaashi and took the man’s briefcase. "I'll carry that for you! Come on, Akaashi!"

It was the first time that Bokuto had said his name when speaking to him, and something inside Akaashi's chest fluttered. He looked back once more at Shimizu; she gave him the smallest hint of a nod before she turned and walked to her car. At that point, Akaashi let himself follow Bokuto over to the park ranger vehicle.

Bokuto opened the passenger door for Akaashi while happily chatting away; now that he had a reason to talk with Akaashi, he seemed to have finally found some confidence. "I'm so glad we just got the cars cleaned and detailed, Akaashi! Usually they’re so dusty, even inside, and your suit looks really nice. Expensive, I mean. Though it does look nice on you!"

Once Akaashe was seated, Bokuto hurried around the vehicle and clamored into the driver's side seat. He then looked at Akaashi, smiling as brightly as ever. The two men stared at each other for almost a minute; Bokuto was grinning like it was the best day of his life. 

Akaashi looked at Bokuto and felt a perplexed feeling while taking the man in; he was still calculating the situation, and something didn’t quite add up. The whole scenario seemed too well instrumented to be just a coincidence. Shimizu’s behavior, especially, was puzzling. Akaashi had heard her telling Kenma that she would be going home for a quiet evening, and yet she had told Bokuto she was late for a prior engagement. Akaashi suddenly wondered if his boss didn’t like him; perhaps she was trying to avoid having to give him a ride. 

But that seemed unlikely since they’d had a good conversation just that morning, and Akaashi felt that the woman had been comfortable with him at that time. And nothing had happened between now and then. That is, aside from Asahi borrowing his car and subsequently not returning it. And then there was the text from Oikawa, who knew where his car was and claimed that thanks would be in order.

And why had Bokuto driven all the way to the office building with a pie? It was over an hour’s drive to get to the office building from the mountainous wilderness preserve.

Bokuto’s voice broke Akaashi out of his overthinking. "Where do you live, Akaashi? I can put it into the GPS!" 

As Akaashi looked into Bokuto's eyes, he admired them; they were golden brown and warm as they stared back at him. He decided that if fate, or those who would tempt fate, gave him an opportunity to spend time with Bokuto one-on-one, then he wasn’t going to waste it. "Have you had dinner yet, Bokuto-san?" 

"Huh?" Bokuto processed the question and then frowned slightly. "No... Kuroo said he wouldn't let me have dinner until after I brought Kenma the pie. That reminds me, I'm starving. You may have to drive, Akaashi. I might pass out soon from hunger! Kuroo convinced me to only have light salad for lunch earlier. He promised he’d make sure I had a really good dinner, but now I'm withering away!!"

Akaashi's mind finally fit all the pieces together. He wasn't sure the full scope of who Oikawa had involved, but he now knew that Kuroo and the others tried to make a date happen between him and Bokuto. And knowing Oikawa, there had probably been a lot of effort behind this scheme. He supposed he really did owe the man a ‘thank you.’

"I can drive if you need me to Bokuto-san. I wouldn't want you to starve, though, so let's get dinner. I know a good place near here," he said in the most confident voice he could muster. This was the most he’d ever spoken to Bokuto at once, after all.

Bokuto looked like he might burst at the seams from excitement. "Really, Akaashi?! We can go to dinner together?!"

Akaashi nodded. He liked how happy the prospect of having dinner together had made Bokuto; it seemed that maybe the man really did have a crush on him, like Suga and Oikawa had said.

When Bokuto continued, his voice was both cautious and hopeful. "If you let me pay, well... if I pay for both of us, then... it would kind of be like a date." 

Akaashi almost smacked himself in the forehead for being so oblivious to Bokuto’s feelings for him; luckily, he didn’t actually do it. "It will be exactly like a date, Bokuto-san," he said while giving the man a small grin. 

\---

**To Kuroo**

**8:20pm:**

_ Bro!! Brooooo!!! Omg! _

**From Kuroo**

**8:21pm:**

_ Oh? What's up? What’s got you so excited? ;) _

**To Kuroo**

**8:21 pm:**

_ I went on a date!! _

**To Kuroo**

**8:21pm:**

_ With Akaashi!!!!!! _

**To Kuroo**

**8:21pm:**

_ I'm at his house right now! He said I could stay the night because he doesn't want me to drive back through the mountains in the dark!! _

**From Kuroo**

**8:23pm:**

_ Get some brooooooo! I'm happy for you! Give me all the details tomorrow. I've got Kenma here, so I'll let you get yours and I'll get mine, if you know what I mean. ;) ;) _

**To Kuroo**

**8:24pm:**

_ Thanks bro! Have fun with Kenma! _

**To Kuroo**

**8:24pm:**

_ Wait, if you were going to see Kenma tonight anyway, why did you make me drive all the way out to town to give him that pie? You could have given it to him yourself. _

**From Kuroo**

**8:25pm:**

_ ;) ;) ;) _


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost named this fic "If I Fall Off This Cliff For You So You Can Catch A Man, Will You Buy Me Ice Cream Later?" 
> 
> Because, let's face it. Take-chan was the real MVP here.

\---Two Months Later At The Shimizu Publishing Company Retreat---

Oikawa was sitting on Iwaizumi's lap on a chair close to the fire pit. They were in the middle of a big ring of cabins, and the campground was a mile out from the ranger station. There was a small lake nearby with freezing cold water. Atop a nearby hill was a small observatory, but it was hidden among trees; Oikawa hadn’t even been told about it yet. 

A large group was gathered around the campfire; they were sitting on big wooden chairs and long wooden benches.

Bokuto was holding a long stick over the fire and it was crammed full of marshmallows. His other hand was holding onto Akaashi's; they had been going out since two months earlier, when Oikawa and the others set things up so that they’d have an unexpected date. Obviously, the date had gone very well. Akaashi watched his boyfriend roasting marshmallows and seemed to be debating whether he should advise the man not to roast so many at once, let alone eat that amount of the sticky treats.

A very amused Suga was beside an angry looking Daichi. The man was irritably scolding Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Hinata for being reckless; the three young men were all naked from skinny dipping in the icy lake. It was much too cold and dark for swimming, and the three men had been asked to stay away from the water earlier in the evening. Asahi ended up needing to get help in stopping the three men from continuing to skinny dip. 

As the three men were being yelled at, Kageyama was trying to put clothes onto Hinata. Asahi stood nearby chewing his nails while his mind repeatedly pictured the men drowning in the dark, cold water. Shimizu was next to Asahi; she was patting the man’s shoulder while giving Tanaka a disapproving frown.

Tsukishima was next to Yamaguchi on one of the wooden benches. He looked like he was actually enjoying himself; he had one arm curled around his boyfriend, and held a cup of hot chocolate in the other. Yamaguchi had made a very delicious homemade hot chocolate mix and brought it along to share with the group. 

Ushijima was across the fire from them in a chair; his red headed husband Tendou was on his lap. It had only been a year since anyone even knew Ushijima had a husband, even though the man had worked at the station for such a long time. One day, Ushijima had just shown up with Tendou at a company barbeque. When his coworkers asked why they were only just finding out about him being married, Ushijima had shrugged and said it had never come up in conversation. Apparently, Ushijima and Tendou had been together since high school.

Kuroo was laying on a blanket with Kenma; he had an arm tucked under the slightly shorter man. They were looking up at the stars together and enjoying a tender moment. They were very happy together since they’d started dating.

Meanwhile, Iwaizumi looked around at all his coworkers, who were also like his family. They seemed especially happy and content. Though Iwaizumi hated to admit it, Oikawa played a big part in helping that happen. And he really did appreciate that his boyfriend had helped his friends. 

Unbeknownst to Oikawa, Iwaizumi had a special surprise planned for that night. He leaned his mouth close to the man’s ear and whispered softly. “Hey, get on my back so I can carry you.”

Oikawa turned and looked at Iwaizumi with an amused expression. "Carry me where, Iwa-chan?"

Iwaizumi chuckled while he ruffled Oikawa’s hair. "It's a surprise, Shittykawa. Do you want a piggyback ride or not?" 

“I’d never turn down a piggyback ride,” Oikawa said playfully as he got off Iwaizumi’s lap and moved so that the man could crouch in front of him. He then climbed onto his boyfriend’s back and smiled as he was carried away from the firepit. Over the past couple months, his knee had recovered a lot. However, he still played it up sometimes so that Iwaizumi would carry him around the apartment that they now shared; though they both knew it was just for attention, and not because he was actually hurting. 

Oikawa nuzzled his face into the back of Iwaizumi's neck and hummed happily. Iwaizumi smiled and handed Oikawa a flashlight, and then started walking towards a trail behind one of the cabins. Oikawa pointed the flashlight at the trail while pressing himself as close as he could to Iwaizumi's warmth; the night's air had a frosty chill now that late autumn had arrived.

“Where are we going?” Oikawa asked as he glanced around. 

Iwaizumi chuckled lightly. “I told you, it’s a surprise.”

“You know I’m not patient,” Oikawa said with a playful whine.

Iwaizumi laughed deeply at that. “Oh, I know that first hand, trust me.”

Oikawa giggled at that too. Iwaizumi was actually the one with all the patience between the two of them, though no one would have guessed it.

After five minutes of walking, they reached the observatory. Oikawa shone the flashlight over it and gasped. "Wow, I didn't know this was out here," he said. His interest in the building was obvious by the tone of his voice.

Iwaizumi set Oikawa down by the entrance and pulled a key ring out of his pocket, then unlocked the door. "Did you forget that I owe you a night tour? I just didn’t mention that it's a tour of the night sky. I thought you’d enjoy it even before I knew you were a space nerd."

Oikawa turned and smiled excitedly at Iwaizumi, then feigned disappointment. “I can’t believe you kept this from me all this time!”

Iwaizumi grinned cheekily as he took Oikawa’s hand. “Some thing are worth waiting for, sweetheart.”

Oikawa blushed at the pet name as Iwaizumi led him into the observatory. The man flipped some switches to uncover the telescope and start up some equipment; a detailed view of the sky was projected onto a big screen in front of a row of comfortable looking chairs.

Oikawa's eyes grew large as he sat down on one of the chairs right beside Iwaizumi. His attention was glued to the screen; he had never seen stars so close and clear before, and it took his breath away. "I've never seen anything so beautiful,” he whispered.

"Neither have I," Iwaizumi said. But he wasn’t looking at the stars; he was looking at Oikawa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ^_^ I appreciate it!
> 
> (I went back through this fix to fic a bunch of typos at the beginning of 2021.)
> 
> Thank you to Mythical_Beasts for commenting through this whole fic and thank you to LollyBellaYuki54 for commenting along when I was rewriting it. 
> 
> And thank you so much to everyone who commented on this fic back when I first posted it. Those comments actually encouraged me to keep writing and now I've written many more stories. ^_^
> 
> [You can find me on Tumbler](http://spacejammie-eimmajecaps.tumblr.com)


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